Ghosts of the Past
by Undertaker1
Summary: Link and a team of Special Forces must go back in time in order to prevent a sorcerer from taking over Hyrule with modern technology.
1. Chapter 1

This is a war fic with modern weapons, but takes place in the past and present. Link and his team of Special Forces have to go back in time and prevent a sorcerer from taking over the past in order to rule the future. Enough with the Undertaker, let's get on with the story.

Ghosts of the Past

"Shh. Quiet. If this is going to work it has to be absolutely silent." Drake said as he and Grady Tomilson approached Link's dorm room. 

The red haired man put his ear silently up to the door. "Okay, all clear. Grady, do your thing.

The dark haired man nodded and pulled two bent paperclips from his pockets. He began to pick the lock on the door, and after a few minutes, they heard a click, and Grady opened the door very slowly.

Drake pulled out a tape recorder, and signaled Grady into position next to Link's sleeping form.

Grady saw Link's arm move under the covers. "Wait, I think he's waking up!" Tomilson hissed quietly. Drake shrugged, and before he could turn on the tape recorder, Link's feet shot out from under the covers.

They never knew what hit them. In one moment, they were going to play a trick on Link by playing sounds of gunfire using the tape recorder, and now they were both on the floor, with two BB guns pointed at their eyes. Link's cold gaze met the freaked out gaze of Drake.

"You were too loud." Link stated bluntly, putting his foot on Drake's neck when he tried to move.

"Shit, calm down, man." Drake said, trying to pry Link's foot off of his throat. 

Link relented, and put the guns on his bed.

Grady stood, and turned to a hallway full of laughing college students.

"Shut up!" Drake said angrily at the crowd. "I can't believe you were stupid enough to try to sneak up on GI Joe!" Someone said. Link scowled at the nickname given to him when he was a freshman in college.

Link picked up the BB guns and pointed them at Drake and Grady.

"Out." He said. They just stood dumbfounded for a second, and Link shot a BB at Drake's legs. "Out!" 

They took off running down the halls, and the crowd started leaving, the display of stupidity by the two men still fresh in their minds.

Link's chemistry teacher walked up to his door. "Link, I don't know why you still have those anymore. No one is going to attack you." 

"What about people like them?" Link smirked at Drake and Grady. The two of them were standing a distance behind the teacher making faces.

When she turned around, they started talking to each other with normal expressions.

"Look, if you don't have any other reason to be here, I'd like to get dressed." Link said, glancing down at his bare chest and boxers. "Sure." She said, and walked off. 

Link sighed, and pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a white T-shirt. Drake and Grady walked in his still open dorm room. Drake was massaging the leg Link had shot.

"Ow, why did you have to shoot me?" Drake said, wincing as pain shot up through his leg. "You came in without authorization."

"Authorization? What, is this Area 51?" Drake asked with an amused smirk. 

"Look, just don't sneak up on me again, I get seriously paranoid about that crap." 

"Yeah, cause you're the Hero of Time!" Drake said mockingly. Link glared at him.

"It's true Drake." Grady said, "He really does have the Triforce of Courage."

"I would show it to you, but it won't pop up on my hand anymore." Link said, waving the back of his right hand around.

"Maybe that's because you don't have it." Drake said with an accusing glare.

"Anyway, are you going to that party tonight? At Claire's?" Drake asked Link.

"No, I've got to go to work. Only a few more weeks and I'll have enough money to finish the Shelby." Link said, his mood brightening a little. 

"Alright, well, see you tomorrow." With that, Drake headed off to his classes.

"You know, it's probably best that he doesn't know. He'd probably spread it all over the school." Grady said once Drake's figure had disappeared around the hall.

"It's not the school I'm worried about. It's the government. If they know I'm here, they'll storm the whole building to get me." Link said with downcast eyes. "I don't want to put anyone through what I've been through."

"Right," Grady said in an unbelieving tone. "Well, see you tomorrow." Grady walked out of Link's dorm, and Link decided to see Aria.

Link approached Aria's door and listened for any hint that she was inside. He heard typing, so he knocked twice.

She opened the door, and upon seeing that it was Link, hugged him happily.

Aria was a black haired pureblooded Hylian, which was rare in those days, and she was one of the hottest girls in Hyrule. She had gotten second and third place in a few national beauty contests. She was also the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom.

"Link! You haven't come by in a few days, I was starting to think the government got you." She smirked as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"That's no joke. Anyway, we have to talk about some stuff."

"Sure, come in." Aria's dorm was a lot nicer than Link's. While he simply had a bed, desk, small fridge, and microwave, she had a small apartment. There was a main dining room, a kitchen, and two rooms for her and another person. That other person was Claire.

Claire was a short haired blonde girl with a perky attitude. She had parties at her cabin all the time, and she was very popular with the guys and girls of the school. Claire was thankfully not in the dorm at the moment. She was shopping for food and anything else that suited her.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Aria asked, motioning for Link to sit down on the plush leather sofa that was situated in front of a large entertainment system.

"Well, I talked to a good friend of mine, and learned some disturbing news." Link said, taking off his overcoat and dropping it on the floor. 

"The bands of moblins that were previously scared shitless to even expose themselves to sunlight are planning attacks on civilians. The first attack is meant to kill the Hero of Time. They are going to attack Claire's cabin."

Aria looked at Link with an expression of horror on her face. "What? We have to stop the party!" 

"No, we can't do that, the entire University is going to be there." Link said, shaking his head.

"Then what are we going to do? We can't fight them."

Link smirked. "Oh no." Aria said, wide-eyed. "You are not going to have a stakeout at Claire's cabin! The cops will be all over you! And what if someone gets hurt? Could you live with that?" 

"Yeah." Came the reply. Aria scowled at him.

"Look, it's pretty deep in the mountains, so the gunshots won't even be reported. I could be in and out in a matter of minutes." He said, hoping to win her approval. 

"You'll need the Baby then." Link smirked. He could get her to agree to almost anything if he really wanted to. "Alright, I'll take the Baby. There's one more thing I need you to do." Link looked around nervously, and Aria crossed her arms. "What is it?" 

"I need you to sit this one out. You have to be at the party to herd them inside when the moblins show up." 

"Fine." She huffed. Link looked shocked. "Just like that? You really won't come with me?" 

"Yeah, cause I promised Claire that I would be there, so at least I'll get to see the moblin's asses kicked." She said with a smile. 

"Alright, well, I have to go pick up the stuff, so see you at the party." Link put on his overcoat and just before he left, he told her where to leave the Baby.

Late that night, people started to show up at Claire's cabin. The cabin itself was massive. It was a mansion built in a cabin style. The party was in the main room of the cabin. It was a massive room that had a stage in the front. 

Aria was getting nervous, and she felt the moblins in the forest surrounding the cabin, but she couldn't see them.

"Aria? Are you okay? You've been acting weird all night." Claire asked.

"Well, I'm just a little sad that Link couldn't come." She lied. 

"Yeah, he had to work. It's a shame, he could have shown off his ability to run up walls." Drake said, walking up to Aria with Grady right behind him. 

Aria sighed and went to get Drake and Grady a drink. 

The party was a costume party, it being Halloween, and so everyone was dressed as different things. 

Aria was dressed as a vampire. She was in tight leather and a cape, and her hair was wet down behind her back.

A guy with black hair and sunglasses walked up to her. He had on a large overcoat. 

"Hey." The man stated simply.

"Link!?" She hissed quietly. 

"Shh. Can you feel the moblins?" Link asked over the noise of the music and dancing. 

"Yeah, but I can't see them. Did you bring the Baby?" Aria asked. 

"Yeah, it's outside. Listen, I need you to be ready to herd everyone into a large group when they attack." Link said as he pressed a Beretta into her hands. She nodded and quickly hid the Beretta in her cape.

"What the fuck is that!?" Someone yelled. Everyone turned their attention to the large windows, where a group of about fifty moblins were running towards their position. 

The moblins had a hard shell covering their entire body, and a large sword attached to their right arms. They had large fangs and claws, and were known in mythology for their ruthlessness. 

The moblins had reached the huge glass windows, and were beating the glass to pieces. At that moment, hell broke out. 

Everyone started screaming and rushing through the large doors to the front lawn. 

Link's reaction was instantaneous. He threw off his overcoat, revealing numerous guns strapped to his chest and legs. 

Link pulled two MP5's from their holsters on his chest, and started opening fire on the moblins. He emptied the magazines and dropped the guns on the floor. The moblins were momentarily shocked at the numbers that had fallen trying to get through the windows.

Link hopped out onto the glass covered ground from the shattered windows and stared down the moblins. He pulled a Desert Eagle from its place attached to his leg and drew the Master Sword from its sheath on his back. 

Aria ran outside and stopped with everyone else, and looked over to see the moblins that were trying to get through the windows get mowed down by 9mm bullets. A large number of the moblins went down, and she saw Link calmly hop down to face the moblins.

By this time, most of the crowd had gathered outside, looking at Link and the moblins. They were too scared to move, so they just stood there staring at the guy who had just hopped out of the window.

Link looked at the crowd of moblins, and then he started to walk towards them. 

One of the moblins lunged at him, and in the blink of an eye Link's sword was buried deep in the moblin's chest. Link let the creature slide off of the sword, and it burned up into ashes and floated away in the wind. The moblins stared at Link for what seemed like an eternity. Link decided to break the silence. 

"Who's next?" 

Claire knew that voice, and she was now extremely confused. What was Link doing with black hair and guns and stuff? And since when was he so fast? Her mind was going a million miles a minute, but she didn't bother to acknowledge the questions. Instead, she stared on in bewilderment.

The moblins suddenly swarmed at Link, and in seconds they were surrounding him. 

Link became a blur. Two of them dropped to his sword, there heads having been sliced off. He took another five when the Desert Eagle's .50AE bullet pierced a moblin's body and proceeded straight through the next four.

He made a downward slash at one of them, slicing it in two. He flipped his sword so that the point was facing behind him and thrusted it straight through another. A moblin tried to get Link in a hold, but he threw it on the ground and twisted its arm at a nasty angle. It screamed in pain until Link pierced its heart.

The sea of moblins was becoming relentless, and they seemed to keep coming. He jumped up, and in an amazing display of agility, kicked a moblin, sending it sprawling into the rest of the bunch. 

While they were preoccupied with the creature that was just flung at them with inhuman strength, Link ran to Aria's car. Link opened the trunk, and pulled out the M-60 that he had put there. 

Aria stared at Link, unable to comprehend that he had just taken down countless moblins without even becoming winded. Before he had defeated Ganondorf, she had never seen his skills. He seemed inhuman. She let her mouth drop when Link approached her car and pulled out an M-60 heavy machine gun.

Link made sure the weapon was armed and ready to rock, and set the bipod on the hood of the car. He looked down the sights, and saw that the moblins had recovered and were running towards his position. 

"Suckers." Link grinned. He held the trigger down and let the 5.56mm rounds do the rest of the work. 

The weapon responded by letting loose all of its fury. The weapon churned out twenty rounds in a few seconds, and Link saw a group of moblins fall, holes in their bodies. 

He started waving the barrel across the line of advancing moblins, and moblin after moblin fell to the wrath of the Hero of Time. 

Blood was spraying all over, and by the time Link ran out of ammo, only a few moblins were running towards him. 

Link let the smoking gun lie on the hood, and approached the moblins that were still running towards him. When the first of the three moblins neared him, it swung its blade up across Link's body, cutting a deep gash across his chest. 

"Son-of-a-bitch!!" Link screamed. He threw his fist at the moblin, and it's head exploded from the impact. Link gave the other one a sloppy kick that surprisingly landed, sending the moblin backwards. It jumped back up, and he twisted its arm behind its back. There was a loud snap, and the moblin screamed in pain. 

Link's knee connected with its stomach, and it doubled over in pain. He kicked it in the neck, and there was another loud snap, and the moblin let out its last breath.

The last moblin saw what Link did to its comrades, and started running the other way. Link decided to let it go, partly because of the amount of blood he was losing and partly because the cops had just arrived, and were running towards the crowd, while some were staring at the carnage of dead moblin carcasses.

Link walked toward where he had left the Baby. He stood, looking at it for a moment, marveling at the sleek black vehicle in front of him. He pulled out a set of keys, and opened the door. He got in, and turned the keys. The V12 engine roared to life, and Link smiled to himself. 

Officer O'Hara had noticed the trail of blood leading to a magnificent black car, in which a young man was currently backing out. _Wow, it's not every day that you see a Lamborghini Murcielago. _Then the cop ran towards the car.

"Stop! We need to ask you some questions!" O'Hara yelled to the young man in the car.

Link wasn't about to get questioned by the cops, so he backed out, and put the car in first gear. When the officer drew his gun, Link gunned the engine and peeled off down the paved mountain road. 

The officer radioed for some of the police at the scene to help with a runaway witness/suspect. They were heading down the road at eighty miles an hour when they caught sight of the Murcielago.

Link saw the cops behind him, and decided to lose them. He let up the gas and put in the clutch while shifting to second gear. He stomped on the gas again, and the engine took on a new roaring noise, and took off way ahead of the police. 

"This is Officer O'Hara, I am requesting additional units and an air unit on Callahan Road, I am in pursuit of a black Lamborghini Murcielago." 

"Copy that, officer. Your backup is on its way, ETA a few minutes." 

"Jesus, this guy can drive." O'Hara said to himself. The Lamborghini was pushing a hundred and twenty miles an hour, and the suspect was handling the roads easier than any stunt driver. 

Link shifted into third gear, but didn't stomp on the gas so much. He didn't want to spin out in the Baby. He figured he was a few miles from the interstate, and he could lose the cops easily there.

A few minutes later, Link could see the road to get on the interstate. He made a sharp turn onto the road, and got onto the interstate. He could see at least ten cops a distance behind him, and he was suddenly aware of the noise of a helicopter. 

Time to go. Link floored the gas, and in a minute he was in fifth gear pushing two hundred miles an hour, weaving in and out of traffic. 

"Where's that air unit?" Officer O'Hara asked angrily. "Air 1 here, I'm all over him." 

O'Hara sighed and passed a large bus. This guy was an amazing driver. O'Hara almost thought he deserved to get away. 

"Subject has increased speed." The chopper said frantically. "180, 190, 200, . . . I've lost him." The chopper said. 

Officer O'Hara allowed his cruiser to decrease its speed to normal, and he switched off the sirens. That was the first time in the history of Hyrule police that someone had outrun them. O'Hara realized that he would have hell to pay when he talked to the Chief.

How was it? Please review, but please be gentle with flames.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to all of you that reviewed the last chapter. This one has some psychology in it. Can you believe it? The Undertaker knows a little bad guy psychology. I accidentally forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter, so:

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or any of the characters associated with it, Nintendo does. (Rich bastards)

Ghosts of the Past

Link pulled into his safe house downtown and closed the door to the garage. The safe house wasn't meant to be a safe house, it was the workshop that Link worked in as a mechanic. A sheet on the other side of the large garage covered the almost finished Shelby. 

Link knew his time there was limited. Link knew by the look on Claire's face that she had recognized him, so in all her wisdom she would probably tell the cops everything about him, and then the FBI would here about it. 

They would realize 'hey, this is the guy who tried to kill the President' and from there things would only go down hill. 

The FBI would tell the local cops to back off the case, and then they'd have a 'productive interview' with anyone that was close to Link. From there, they would probably learn that Link had a vehicle repair workshop downtown, and they would come to check it out. 

By that time, though, Link could have sweeped the place of any prints or sign that he was there, and be halfway across the world to hide in Russia with a KGB associate of his.

Red, Link's friend in the shop, would say he hasn't seen Link for a few days, and then he'd be totally screwed when he found out Link had left the country.

However, Link could always totally fuck over the cops and sweep every place he's slept for the last few years, and clear his dorm of any furniture, which would also totally fuck them up.

Link suddenly thought of Aria, and realized what they would do to her if she didn't cooperate with them. Then again, she might believe the bullshit that they fill her with that they are trying to help him, and then he couldn't hide anywhere on Earth, because she can feel him. It would be tough, but he could dodge her across the globe if need be. A sharp pain in his chest tore Link away from his thoughts and to the large gash on his chest.

"Fuck," Link winced as he peeled off his now bloodstained shirt to look at the wound he had received from the moblin that got a little too close. 

The wound was bleeding profusely, and it took all of Link's determination not to pass out from the loss of blood. Link noticed a box labeled 'Electrical Torches'. He got an idea.

Electrical torches were what they used at the shop to work with electrical wires. The torches were relatively weak, but could still fuse flesh together.

Link grabbed the box and hastily opened it, hooking up one of the torches to a propane tank. Link flicked the starter, and the torch sent out hot flame. 

Link mentally prepared himself for what he was about to endure. 

Link held the torch to his chest, and almost blacked out from the pain. It was something he had done before, but there was no way to get used to pain. 

Pain isn't mental; your nerves are warning you that this is potentially lethal. The more blinding the pain, the more Life threatening the cause of the pain becomes.

It took all of Link's will power to keep the torch pointed at the wound. He was slowly bringing the torch up across his chest, effectively closing the wound by fusing the flesh together.

Link finally pulled the torch away from his shoulder, and stared at the long gash that he had just closed. It started at his lower chest and continued up to his shoulder. The pain was nonexistent now, he had blocked it out. 

He would have a long scar on his chest for a few months, but eventually it would completely heal.

He put the shirt back on, and looked for the red spraypaint. No one would ask questions if he walked in with a red shirt, but a bloodstained shirt would draw unnecessary attention.

After spraying his shirt completely red, he put it on a hangar in front of a fan.

Link's thoughts returned to the situation. Why were the moblins suddenly attacking? Who provoked them? Or ordered them? That was a scary thought. If there was a new sorcerer in town, Link needed to take him out quick. After a half-hour, the shirt was dry, so he threw it on and hopped in the Murcielago. One thing about the cops, when they were looking for a car, they often went for looks and license plates. Link had hacked into the state records once, and he made a fake license plate, complete with a fake license and place of living and occupation and even credit card numbers for the cops to follow if Link needed time to leave.

On his way to the University, a cop pulled up right next to him. Link had washed out his hair using vinegar, so his hair was no longer black, but a medium blonde. He smiled and waved at the cop. The cop waved back. The cop didn't look any older than twenty-five, so Link decided to mess with him. 

He revved the engine, and the cop broke out in laughter. Link smiled, and at the green light, the cop took off ahead of Link, but Link didn't pursue him. The police cruiser fishtailed the corner and disappeared into a neighborhood. 

In a few minutes, Link pulled into a space next to Claire's SUV and walked the fifty feet to the University entrance. He punched in a number on the keypad that was used by students to get in after hours, and took the elevator to the third floor. 

When the elevator doors opened, the halls were completely darkened. Link walked into the hall to get out of the light the elevator provided, and allowed his eyes to adjust. 

He had discovered that his Triforce allowed him to do things that no other human being would ever be able to do. He can jump over ten feet higher than his own height, and he could shoot the flea off of a horse at two hundred yards. He also had a sort of 'night vision' that allowed him to see clearly in the dark. 

Once his eyes had adjusted, he took on a crouch and crept silently through the halls.

His criminal justice professor passed a by him, missing him by a few inches, and the professor didn't even notice that Link was there. 

Link let out a breath as the professor walked by, and waited until he had rounded the corner to continue. When he reached Aria's dorm, he silently picked the lock with his knife and crept in. When the door had closed, he stood up. 

The kitchen light was on, and he could hear muffled voices coming from inside. He picked up part of the conversation, and his heart turned cold.

"We don't want to hurt him, I assure you. We know what happened at the place in the mountains, and we also know why." A voice said. It sounded somewhat familiar. There was silence for a few minutes, until Aria's shaken voice made itself heard.

"You promise you won't hurt him?" She asked.

"Yes. I can assure you that his safety is our highest priority." The voice said.

Aria sighed. "Then what do you want with him? Why did you come here?"

"We need his help. There is a serious problem that has been growing in severity, and we need the help of the Hero of Time."

"What? What problem?" Aria asked, her voice betraying her attempts to hide any emotion.

"Yeah, is there a problem Agent Smith?" Link asked, walking through the entrance to the kitchen. Aria and Smith were standing opposite each other, with half-empty cups of coffee. 

Link smiled at Agent Smith. "You look like you've just seen a ghost." Link said with a grin.

"I have just seen a Ghost." Smith replied, his expression returning to normal. 

Link led them into the living room, where Link and Aria sat on the sofa, and Smith sat on a chair opposite them. 

"Ready? It's quite a story." 

"Shoot." Link said, his face showing no emotion. 

"After you killed Ganondorf, we had a party with the leaders of every country still surviving. We were celebrating the victory over Ganondorf. There, the President of Hyrule was shot in the shoulder. We never caught the sniper.

A rumor spread through the House of Representatives that the Hero of Time tried to kill the President because the President didn't send any aid to his parents when they were tortured. Before any search was activated, time was somehow reset. The entire world went back in time. Ganondorf had been killed while inside the Sacred Realm, so he was erased from history." Smith paused to let the information sink in.

"However, only a select few remembered what had happened in the alternate universe. A few military Generals, the President, a few agents, and about forty other individuals could recall what had happened. Then, we began to look into the legends of the past. There were thousands of old myths and legends that could come to life at any second and try to take over the world. 

We decided to set up a Government agency to prevent things like this. We have Colonel Moretti," Link relaxed a little at hearing an old friend's name.

"Well, at least there's one good egg in a basket of bad ones."

"Link, Moretti found out who shot the President. It was a moblin. That is why the President is still living today." Smith said. He cleared his throat and continued.

"Moretti also discovered something that changed the agency forever." Link raised an amused eyebrow.

"He found the Ocarina of Time." 

Aria stiffened, and Link scowled. "Now the government can manipulate time? Great." Link said.

"Yes, but we haven't done so yet. Please, let me finish the story before you criticize the government." Smith said. 

The name of the agency would be Genesis. The agency would have its headquarters in Arizona, and would operate independently from any other agency. It is our greatest agency. It has all the capabilities of the NSA, the CIA, and the FBI all wrapped into one. Recently, agents in the agency had discovered where moblins were hiding. These moblins remembered what happened to their leader, and a few agents had begun to uncover a conspiracy to dominate the world. 

The problem was that this wasn't your average 'take over the world' scheme that people get. This one involved going back in time, and using modern technology to take over the past Hyrule, so they would be in control in the future. Very confusing at first, but if you think about it, the plan makes sense. 

The group responsible is the same group responsible for reviving Ganondorf. Three months ago, Moretti fell into a coma. He won't wake up. The Forensics department didn't find any drugs, which means that someone used magic to put him into a coma. We don't know anything about the magic, but we found someone who does. 

His name is Professor Hartinger. He is an expert in the ancient times, and even knows quite a bit of magic. He told us that the form of magic used on Moretti was Black Magic. While he was searching for the anticurse, the group bent on world domination went back in time. 

They began to put their plan in action, and as a result people began disappearing as their ancestors were killed in the past. The problem we have is that only the Hero of Time or the Princess of Destiny can use the Ocarina. This means that we can't go back in time to fight them. 

Link, we need you and your old team to go back in time and fight them. We can locate all the old members and have them in Arizona by the end of the week. All we need is your cooperation." Smith looked from Aria to Link and back again. "The world needs you." 

"We'll do it." Aria said, giving Link a smile. 

"Link? Will you help us?" Smith asked. 

"Sure." Link said.

"Excellent." Smith smiled. "Here's the number of an informant who you need to call first thing in the morning. He'll need all the names of the team, and anything you'll want when you go back in time." Smith handed Link a folded piece of paper, which he pocketed. 

"Get a flight to Yuma, and we'll ship you from there to the base." 

Link and Smith stood up, shook hands, and Smith left the dorm. Link closed the door after him, and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and found himself staring into the confused eyes of Claire.

"I-I-what-you're-?" Claire stuttered. 

"Shh. Yes to everything. It was me at your party. I have the Triforce of Courage. Aria has the Triforce of Wisdom." 

"I need to sit down." Claire managed to say weakly. 

"Aria, are you going to leave?" Claire asked. 

"Yes." 

Claire sighed, and looked at Link. "Everyone knows it was you at the party, Link. You're the talk of the school." 

"I don't know what to say anymore. I go to a party with a normal friend, and find out I have a magical princess sharing a dorm with me. It's like a fairy tale. I can't even begin to comprehend everything I've heard." 

"You heard it all?" Aria asked softly. Claire nodded. 

"Look, I don't know how long we'll be gone, but can you pay the rent?" Aria asked. 

"Yeah. Hey, if you have the Triforce, does that mean you have that mystical tattoo on the back of your hand?" Claire grinned and pointed at Aria's hand. 

"Yeah." Aria smiled. 

"Let me see." Claire grabbed Aria's hand, and looked at normal flesh. She frowned. 

"Make it appear." She pouted. Aria concentrated, and soon a golden triangle glowed brightly on her hand. 

"Wicked." Claire said, staring at it for a few seconds, and then releasing her grip.

Aria laughed, and Link cleared his throat. "Look, we need to think of a cover story to tell the University."

"I'll take care of that." Claire said, smiling. "You go get the bad guys."

Link grinned and thanked her. He left the dorm, and left the two girls to plot their escape.

Link wandered to Grady's dorm, and opened the door, which was surprisingly unlocked.

"Grady? Are you in here?" Link asked quietly. He received a grunt in response. 

"What do you want?" A groggy and annoyed Grady asked. 

"I need to talk to you first thing in the morning. Come to my dorm, and we'll discuss it there." 

"Sure." No sooner had Link closed the door than Grady was fast asleep again. As Link stood outside Grady's dorm, he thought of the team, and what it would be like to see them all again. He walked down the hall towards his dorm with one thought on his mind:

__

The Ghosts are comin' to town.

The next day, Link awoke to someone knocking at his door. He sat up slowly, and ran a hand through his short blonde hair. The knocking grew persistent.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Link yelled as he threw on a pair of jeans and headed for the door.

He opened the door to find a pissed off Grady standing there. 

"I've been knocking for the past half hour." Grady said angrily.

"Sorry. Come in, we have things to discuss." 

Link closed the door after Grady and motioned for him to sit down. Grady chose Link's desk chair. 

"What's up?" Grady asked. 

Link sighed. "This is going to take some time to explain."

"Well, our first class isn't for five hours. We've got time." Grady said, looking at his watch.

"How long has it been since you've talked to any of the Team?" Link asked suddenly.

Grady was immediately wide-awake, and he stared at Link. "A few months." Grady kept staring, but his mind was already coming up with a million different scenarios.

"Well, the government wants our help." 

"With what?" Grady asked quickly. He was starting to hate the government even more now. 

"Well, apparently they set up an agency some time ago called Genesis. Genesis was meant to keep people like Ganondorf from unleashing magic on the world." 

"Oh yeah? The government set up an honest agency? Wow." Grady said in mock amusement.

"Oh, it gets better. Recently, they found the Ocarina of Time." Grady's face darkened. 

"But, none of them can use it. They need me or Aria to play the Song of Time to be able to screw with time. You remember Moretti?" 

Grady nodded. "The guy that betrayed Ganondorf and helped end his reign quicker? Yeah, I remember him." 

"Well, he was the head of Genesis. Only problem is he fell into a Black Magic induced coma a few months ago. They have a magical guy that is helping them right now, name's Hartinger. He's working on the anticurse for Moretti's coma."

"Shit. So, they want us to be there delivery boys?" 

"No, not really. A few weeks ago, the Black Death went back in time using an unknown method." 

Grady knew that name. The Black Death were the ones who had brought back Ganondorf in the alternate timeline. 

"Serious? How did they do it without the Ocarina?" 

"I don't know, but Genesis wants us to go back and take them out. They are willing to provide us with whatever necessary to take them out."

Grady grinned. "I've got a plan."

"Alright, I say we bring the whole fucking Navy with us. If we just used nuclear submarines, than the old sailboats of the past would never know we were there." 

"Well, they don't care if they see big battleships, because we'll outrun them by going against the wind. They can give us anything we want. Air cover, bases, Hummers, tanks, anything." Link said. He waited for Grady's response.

"Fuck yeah." He said, nodding his head. "Let's do it." They both grinned at each other.

"Let's make some calls, and we'll see where it goes from there." Link said.

"I'll call all of squad two. You call squad one." 

Hartinger walked down the halls of the underground base, reading a report that was given to him by the Joint Chiefs. Apparently, the Ghosts were on their way. Hartinger smiled.

So, the President's boys were coming after all? Good, the agency needed professionals.

Hartinger walked into the medical room. Moretti was still lying on his back, his eyes in the back of his head, eyelids wide open. He was wearing a sort of cloak, and it covered his entire body up to his shoulders. 

Hartinger placed his hand on Moretti's forehead, and he could feel the turmoil inside. He knew why Moretti was like this. He was meditating. He wasn't in a coma, but if the Joint Chiefs knew, they wouldn't let Moretti do it again, and thus Moretti's ability to use magic would diminish.

Hartinger checked to make sure all his life signs were stable, and left the room to go to the cafeteria.

They had called all of the team, and they were all headed to the University on the shortest flights. They would be there in a few hours, and from there Link would go to his classes and explain that he wouldn't be there for possibly a year or two.

Link hung up the payphone and walked over to Grady. Grady hung up the phone, and gave Link a smile.

"They'll be here within three hours." 

"Good. We need to go to our classes, and explain the situation to our teachers. You remember the cover story?" 

"Yeah, about our family being in danger. I remember."

"Good, see you in a few hours."

Link walked into his criminal justice class a half-hour late. His professor noticed him, and narrowed his eyes.

"Link, you're late." Professor Carlson said. Carlson was a large man, but he knows what he's doing. 

"Sorry, but I was on the phone with my mom. The house burned down last night, and I need to go to Arizona as soon as possible." Link said, trying his best to sound sincere.

"Oh, my, I hope they're all right. Well, stay for this class, and I'll excuse you for however long you need."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it." 

Link took his seat next to Aria, and everyone stared at him. Link realized that they still remembered what he had done at the party. The professor cleared his throat, and their attention was drawn back to the lesson. 

"Now, I realize that—" The professor was cut off by a loud burst of gunfire from the halls.

Link immediately recognized it as the infamous AK-47 assault rifle. There were terrorists in the building. 

Two of them busted in the room Link was in, and let loose a burst of 7.62x39 into the ceiling. Everyone ducked under the desks, and the terrorists spoke. 

"Get on the floor! Your lives are now in the hands of the Black Death! We decide whether you live or die!" 

Their accent was Mexican, but one of the two was black. One of them spoke into a walkie-talkie. 

"Are you guys secured?" 

"Yeah." 

"Yes." 

"Affirmative."

"Good, everyone stay put. Remember that we are looking for the Hero of Time. He was seen coming into the building late last night." 

Link heard more gunshots from other rooms, and more people screaming. Link presumed from the way the Mexican was acting that he was the leader.

The leader looked at the students in front of him. "Everyone sit on your chairs." No one moved. "NOW!" The terrorist said as he let a three round burst into the air.

Everyone quickly got on their chairs, and the terrorist began to walk through the aisles, until he got to Drake. 

"Do you know the Hero of Time? Where is he?" The terrorist asked. Drake's eyes grew wide, and he glanced up at Link. The leader followed his gaze, and stared coldly at Link. Link returned his stare with one of fear. If he made the terrorists believe they were in control, he could get them to relinquish their weapons. 

The leader walked up to Link. "How about you, punk. You know which one of these bastards is the Hero of Time?" Link shook his head, trying to look scared. The leader narrowed his eyes, and hit Link in the stomach with the but of his gun. 

It didn't hurt in the least to Link, but he made it seem so. He doubled over in pain, and the leader walked back down the steps, to the front of the rows of desks. 

"Next time you defy me, I'll kill you!" He shot into the air again for emphasis.

Link slowly got back on his chair, and stared at the leader. He walked towards the black terrorist, and whispered something. The black man finally spoke, as the leader walked out the door. Now was the time for Link to act.

"If your government does not fulfill our wishes within the hour, we will execute one of you. After that, we will kill one of you every half hour." 

Link raised his hand. The black man looked at him with uncertain eyes. "What?" 

"Uh, I have to go to the bathroom." Link said sheepishly. The black man scowled at him.

"Hold it!" 

"Okay, sorry to bother you." Link said. He noticed the man's expression soften a little bit. Link could work on this one. A few minutes later, Link raised his hand again. 

"What?!" The man said, obviously annoyed. 

"Look, I really have to go, and I don't think you want me to piss my pants. Once the smell gets around the room, you'll be sorry." Link said.

The man sighed. "Fine." The man spoke into his walkie. "I need someone down here to guard." 

A few minutes later, the Mexican walked in. "Okay, take him to the bathroom. If he makes any funny moves, shoot him." The black man nodded, and motioned for Link to follow him. 

They walked out the door, and Link decided to make conversation. "So, you been with the Black Death long?" 

"A few weeks." The man replied. 

"I hear Ganondorf got his ass whipped by the Hero of Time."

"You be quiet! Talk about Ganondorf with respect!" 

"He sure didn't give me any respect before I put the Master Sword through his skull." Link said, taking a gamble. 

The man turned around, and his face had a look of shock on it. Link wasted no time in grabbing the AK from the terrorist, and hitting the man in the leg with the rifle. 

The black man fell on his back in pain, and Link stepped on his neck, cutting off airflow. 

"Whoops, you blew it." Link pushed his foot down on the man's throat, and broke his neck. The man's body went limp, and Link immediately turned, shouldered the AK, and quietly moved back down the hall toward the room he had just come from.


	3. Chapter 3

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed; it means a lot to me. I know I haven't updated for a while, but my brother just got back from Iraq, so I've been pretty busy. He only took twelve shots during the entire war, to make sure his gun sill worked. Is that sad or what? Enough with the Undertaker, let's get on with the ass-kicking'.

Ghosts of the Past

Officer O'Hara had heard the shots coming from the nearby University. A matter of minutes after he had reported it in, the whole building was immediately surrounded by cops. There was a news helicopter circling overhead, feeding the news live. 

O'Hara walked over to where a detective and a doctor were talking to the terrorists using a radio. 

"Look," the detective said into the radio. "You have to give us more time, we can't work that fast." The doctor had a blank look on his face. 

"You had better learn how to move fast. I will not change my demands. They will be met, or I'm going to give a hostage another hole to shit out of." A Mexican voice said.

"We might be able to go faster if you released a hostage. We need a show of good faith. They won't release the prisoners unless they know that you're going to hold onto your part of the deal." The detective knew that they wouldn't release the prisoners unless there were guns pointed at their faces. Damn politicians, they only do what's best for their own candy asses, and not many of them give a yellow shit about their people.

"We will release a hostage." The voice said. "They will either be unconscience, or they'll have a hole in their head. I will NOT release a hostage until my demands are met. Alpha out." Alpha was the name that he had given the cops to call him by. 

The doctor's face turned from blank to a scowl. 

"They know what they're doing. They will not hesitate to execute a hostage. We must buy more time. I will talk to him next time." The doctor said. He glanced up at the building, and shook his head. 

Link approached the door to his criminal justice class, and looked through the window. The leader had just hung up the phone. _Probably discussing his demands. _Link saw him turn and spit onto the floor. He began to curse, and looked towards Link. Link froze, hoping the leader hadn't seen him.

"Where is that big oaf? I wouldn't be surprised if he shot himself in the foot." The leader said towards Link's position. 

"Yeah, he probably did. Remember when he shot the instructor in the camp in Al Kut? That was great. He just shrugged it off like he had killed a snake or something." 

That was a new voice. Link ducked under the window as the owner of the voice stepped from beside the door and walked over to Drake. The man was black, African American by his appearance. He had mentioned Al Kut. That was a town just south of Baghdad in Iraq. There was a terrorist training camp there? You learn something new everyday.

"Where's your friend, huh? He should have been back by now." The black man said. 

"I don't know about that, Link can drop some heavy loads. He stunk up the bathroom so bad one time that we had to put gas masks on and spray the toilets with air freshener."

"Really?" The black man said.

"No." Drake replied. Link was beginning to wonder why Drake was being stupid and risking his life. Drake looked scared shitless before, and now he had confidence? He was truly an idiot.

"Hey, look over there, the Hero of Whatever-the-hell-you-said might be over there. I heard he was a blonde. Is that true?" Drake asked seriously. As the terrorist stupidly walked towards the position Drake had recommended, Link saw Drake glance at him pleadingly. 

He realized that Drake was trying to make a diversion, so Link began formulating a plan.

He made a dropping motion with his hand, and then turned an invisible doorknob. He waited for a response from Drake, and he nodded.

"I've checked the entire area in this room. If he were here, we would have found him by now. Just leave this room to me. If you talk to them too much, they might get something out of you and squeal to the feds." The leader said.

"Fine, whatever. Have fun." The black man said sarcastically. 

"Fuck you." The black man turned around and winked at the Mexican.

"I'm just lying in wait." The black man said with his hands on his hips for emphasis.

He began to walk towards the door Link was hiding behind, and Link stood still by the door.

When the black man walked through the door, Link was hidden behind it. The black man stood by the open door for a few seconds, and looked back inside.

"Alpha, where do you want me to go?" He asked with a puzzled expression.

"To hell." Link said, grabbing the black man by the throat and crushing his trachea in the same motion. He grabbed the AK from the suffocating terrorist's hands and turned on a shocked Alpha. He let a quick three-round burst wipe the shock off of the man's face, as the now headless body fell to the floor.

A few of the students screamed, and Link put his fingers to his lips, signaling for silence. 

"I was just about to put the plan into action." Drake said, lowering his face to pout.

"Well, I saw an opening I couldn't resist. Sorry." Drake opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when a phone rang. _What the fuck? _Link thought. He approached the phone, and looked at it for a moment before picking it up.

"Is this Alpha?" A deep voice said. Link waited for a moment. 

"Alpha's dead." 

The doctor froze upon hearing those words. _Dead?_ He glanced at O'Hara.

O'Hara had been recording all the conversations between the doctor and the terrorists. The officer was just as shocked as Doctor Harris was. 

"What do you mean dead? Who is this?" The doctor asked.

"I mean dead. Wasted. Screwed. Whacked. Put down. As for my name, tell Washington it's the Ghost." 

The doctor was even more confused by now, and he hung up the phone with his mind going insane. Before he had a chance to sort out his thoughts, an uniformed officer ran up to him. 

"Doctor Harris, we have a reply from the NSA, they said that these people don't exist." The uniform explained, handing a piece of paper to Harris. 

"Are they sure? Did they run a search via satellite?" 

"They did everything, sir. These guys don't exist in any UN or NATO prison." 

Harris now realized what the terrorists were doing. They were buying time. But for what? Or whom? That posed an interesting question.

"Get the Pentagon on the phone." Harris told the cop. He nodded and scurried off to find a secure phone.

Link hung up the phone and turned to face the students seated before him, their eyes wide and some bleary from tears. 

"Aria, I need you to make up a cover story if another one comes in. Understood?" 

"Yes." Came the small reply. Link walked over to her, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He looked into her eyes, and saw confusion. 

"I need you to be strong for me. They won't hurt you. They'll be occupied with the brains splattered on the wall. You've been in combat situations before, why are you so scared?" 

She looked into his eyes, and then shook her head. "I can't tell you now. Just…. Go save everybody. Be the Hero that you are." 

He nodded and turned towards the class. "No matter what happens, everyone stay seated here and don't say a word."

Link picked up the AK from the floor, and loaded another magazine in it. After chambering a round, he walked out of the room, the weapon slung across his back. He shut the door softly, and crept down the hall towards the main office. 

When he approached a corner, he stopped and lowly peered around it. After making sure that no one was there, he proceeded down the corridor. 

He reached another corner, and this time when he peered around it, he saw the main office. There was no receptionist behind the window, so Link had to assume that the staff were being held inside. He crept towards the office quietly, watchful for any movement from inside.

He let his back rest against a door, and listened for any sounds. He heard muffled yelling from inside. Link's fear of being seen or heard resided at that moment. They were all too busy contemplating who had fired the shots they heard to listen for intruders.

He opened the door, and found himself in a short corridor. There were two doorways down the right wall, and one on the left. At the end of the hallway, Link could see what appeared to be a teacher's lounge. 

He chose to check the doorway on the left first. When he crept through the doorway, he noticed a mirror on the wall. This mirror allowed him to see the entire room from under the desktop he was hiding behind. 

The room was fairly large, and there was a large receptionist desk that made an L shape around most of the room. There was a large box-like object on a table by the desk, and there were all sorts of different lights and buttons and switches on it. Link identified it as the intercom system.

He found nothing else of interest here, and there were no other doors, so he walked back through the doorway into the corridor. The first room on the right was an office, with tons of papers stacked on the many tables. A few computers were set up on the desks, their screen savers on the maze setting.

There was nothing of importance here either, so he headed down the hallway. He could smell cigarette smoke, but he couldn't see it. He continued into the teacher's lounge, which had a circular table in the middle and pop machines on the side. There was only one place the terrorists could be: Through the door in the teacher's lounge.

Link slowly put his hand on the knob of the door. The smell of the cigarette grew stronger, and Link knew this was the place. He suddenly got an idea, and withdrew his hand from the doorknob. He could hear talking inside, in hushed whispers. 

Link decided to use psychology against them. 

"Hey, it's Alpha, don't mind the gunshots, I just executed a prisoner. There was a sign in the room that said Spread The Knowledge, so I spread it. His brains are all over the floor in there." Link said in his best Mexican accent. They seemed to buy it, as the room erupted into a chorus of laughs. Link could hear a few gasps also. The terrorists had hostages in the office. Fuck.

"You need anything, Saratoga? Mountain Dew? Marlboro? I got everything right here." Another Spanish voice said. 

"Sure, give me a Dew." Link replied.

"Okay, wait a sec." 

Link heard something open, and then close. The door opened, and the Spanish guy tossed Link the Dew before he realized that his leader was not standing before him.

"Thanks." Link smiled, and put two rounds straight into the man's chest. The other occupants of the room, all black or Hispanic, scrambled for their weapons, which were on the other side of the room. The room was small, with a desk, two chairs, and a phone. Link had no clue as to what the room was used for.

Link took all but one of the terrorists out with well-placed shots from his AK. He turned to a Mexican huddling on the floor, shaking with fear. He was muttering some sort of prayer to himself in Spanish. Link had no pity on the man, and pulled the trigger. There was a click, but the receiver didn't fly back. The gun was empty.

"Oh, jeez." Link said, staring at the gun before dropping it on the floor. The Mexican looked up in surprise, and stared at Link with wide, teary eyes.

"P-p-p-l-l-e-e-a-a-a-s-e d-o-n'-t h-u-r-r-t me." The man said slowly. 

Link gave the man a devilish smirk.

"Don't worry, this shouldn't hurt too much." Link said as he cracked his knuckles. The man's eyes grew surprisingly wider, and he started to crawl away. Link simply knocked the man unconscience with a swift kick to the head. This meant the cops could question him later. It also meant that Link could kill all the rest of the bad guys.

A few moments later, the phone next to Link started to ring. 

"Hello?"

"Sorry our conversation was so short, I had things to take care of." Doctor Harris recognized the voice as the one from before. 

"What do you want? Do your previous demands still stand?" 

Link realized that the Doctor didn't think of him as a friend, but rather an enemy. The doctor believed that Link had taken out the leader, and was now in charge of the terrorists.

"I don't think we're getting off on the right foot. I'm Link. I'm a citizen of Hyrule. I need your help. You need mine. Get it?" 

"Yeah, however, there's no way I can trust that you're who you say you are. If you really are who you say you are, I need you to sit tight and let the big boys handle this." He waited for a reply.

Link could understand why the cop was telling him not to do anything. One of the worst scenarios in a hostage situation was when the hostages fought back. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the terrorists got a hold on the situation again, and executed a whole bunch of them. Then the media would discover the casualties, and immediately blame the police for the deaths. The hostages needed to just sit back, and let the SWAT team do their job. It makes the job a whole lot easier for the police.

"Look, you're not going to believe this, but I've trained with the Delta boys over at Fort Bragg, and I've commanded a team of Navy SEALS, I am a big boy." With that, Link hung up the phone, and walked to the entrance to the office. 

He was in a long hallway, with classrooms going all the way down. There were terrorists in every classroom in the entire building. It would take him all day and a few casualties to clear them all. He decided to take a different approach. 

First, he walked towards the windows, and looked at the cops, searching for where the person in charge would be. After spotting Officer O'Hara and the doctor talking, Link recognized him as the cop at the cabin. He was a good driver. O'Hara had kept on Link's tail the entire way back to the interstate during the chase. 

Link noticed a flash of light from atop one of the neighboring buildings, and focused his eyes there. There was a trick that Link had learned before defeating Ganon, he could focus his eyes in and out, like binoculars, up to two hundred meters. It was extremely useful, and allowed him to take very long shots with a rifle without a scope.

It was exactly as Link thought, there was a sniper on the roof. His mouth was moving, probably telling the people in charge that he had spotted someone at the windows. Link stayed at the windows, peering down at O'Hara until he looked up. Link smiled and waved in his direction. O'Hara had seen this, and looked extremely confused. Link pointed down with his finger, and walked away from the window.

He needed to find some way to get down to ground level without alerting the terrorists. Suddenly, the humming noise that had been at the back of his mind got louder, and a helicopter flew in front of the building for a few seconds, and Link ducked to hide from it. He didn't need his face all over the news.

When the chopper flew above the building, Link stood up again and walked silently down the hall. He needed to help Grady. If Link was going to do anything about the situation, he would need some help.

When he approached the room Grady was supposed to be in, the window on the door had bloodstains on it. _This doesn't look pretty. _Link thought as he looked into the room. The students looked like shit, scared and confused. There were two terrorists in the room, both of African descent.

Grady was in the second row, glaring at the terrorists, who were stupidly conversing with each other at the corner of the room. 

Grady noticed Link looking through the window, and moved his eyes in the direction of the terrorists. This told Link that the terrorists were in the corner. Link held up two fingers questioningly. Grady responded by tapping three times on the side of his head. This meant that there were three terrorists. Link made an L with his hand, asking for the location of the third terrorist.

"Hey, you, keep still!" A Mexican voice yelled from door. Grady immediately snapped his attention to the front of the room like everyone else, keeping an eye on Link.

Link made a few motions with his hands, and Grady nodded. 

"Hey, keep still! I won't hesitate to shoot you, man!" The Mexican voice yelled a second time. Grady stood up from his chair, and glared at the Mexican.

"Why don't you come over here and make me, huh punk? Put the gun down, be a man, and fight me!" Grady yelled back.

"Alright, I will!" The Mexican dropped the gun, and pulled his shirt up behind his back, revealing a long knife hidden in his pants. 

At that moment, Link opened the door, and slammed it into the Mexican. He went sprawling across the floor, landing in a heap. Link kicked his face, knocking him unconscience. He grabbed the knife from the Mexican's unconscience body, and threw it straight into another terrorist's neck from across the room. Meanwhile, Grady had grabbed a pen off of someone's desk and done the same with it, the fine point of the pen piercing the throat of the third and final terrorist.

Link walked over to the Mexican's AK and checked to make sure it was loaded. Upon finding that it was, he slung it across his shoulder. 

"That was nice, man." Grady commented, checking the bodies of the terrorists to make sure they were dead.

"Went straight for the throat, cut off his oxygen supply, and pierce the spinal cord. They'll fall flat on their face and suffocate like a fish out of water." Link said.

"Damn. I see you aren't one bit rusted from six years away from the service." Grady said, shouldering his own AK.

"What do you think I really do on the weekends that I have to 'work'?" Link asked, walking back to the door. The students were starting to get up, but Grady ushered them back down.

"We need you to stay here. Don't move unless a police officer comes and tells you to move. Understand?" He received nods from most of the class. 

"Good." 

The two walked down the hall, towards the window Link had seen the helicopter fly by in.

"Here's my plan." Link whispered, being careful not to let his voice echo in the halls.

"Okay, a helicopter will come by here every once in a while, trying to get snapshots of the terrorists. It comes close enough to jump on."

"Jump on? Are you nuts? I'm not jumping on a helicopter that's-," Grady glanced out of the window towards the ground, "-over sixty feet in the air!" Grady hissed.

"Well, we can't use any of the other routes. They have everything else guarded."

"I can't believe we're going to do this." Grady said, putting his head in his hands. 

"We have to. A whole school full of young adults, some of them very attractive and single, need our help." Link said hoping to convince him to jump to the helicopter.

It seemed to be successful, because Grady's expression grew dreamy, and his lips curled up into a smile. "I'll do it." He said, looking determined. 

"That's great." Link said, patting him on the back. 

"Now we just have to get this sniper to notice us…." 

"What?!" Grady said, looking horrified. Link chuckled.

The Undertaker hopes that you are enjoying his Fanfic. You will have to put up with slow updates for the next few weeks. Pheasant season just opened up, and my friends and I go hunting just about every weekend. I'll try to update at least once a week. As the great Red Green says, Keep your stick on the ice!


	4. Chapter 4

Taker here. Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I don't really have an excuse this time…….I just got lazy. 

Ghosts of the Past

The Pentagon was getting impatient. They had been notified of the new insider in the University, and a select few knew whom the 'Ghost' was. General Garrison was currently talking to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explaining to them that the Delta Force needed to be deployed. The truth was that he was actually trying to buy Link some time.

"The Delta Force was originally created for anti-terrorist situations, but we haven't taken care of a single one in thirty years, much less have been deployed on one." Garrison said to the council before him.

"Look," a large man with glasses in front of him said, "the Delta Force hasn't been used because we haven't needed them. The local or national SWAT teams have always taken care of any terrorist situation that might arise."

"That may be true, but I still think that Delta needs to be deployed on this. They can get the job done quickly and efficiently, with little to no casualties. Please consider my offer." 

"We will not-." 

"I agree with him on this situation. We can't be assured that the local authorities will be able to take the mental pressure of a situation like this." The President of Hyrule stated, glaring at the large man.

"Deploy your forces right away, General."

"It will be my pleasure, sir." The fifty-year-old General saluted the President, and walked out of the Joint Chief's office with a grin plastered on his face.

O'Hara didn't know whether to trust this new person or to ignore him. It seemed to be a lose/lose situation. He was relieved when a handful of military trucks arrived, packed with Delta troops armed and ready-to-rock. A senior officer walked up to O'Hara and offered his hand.

"I'm General Garrison." He stated in a Texas accent. "Are you the cop in charge?" 

"That would be me, yes." O'Hara stated, shaking the General's hand.

"What do we know about the terrorists?" Garrison asked, looking at blueprints of the building that were sprawled on the hood of a car.

"Well, there are quite a few of them. Thirty minimum. We patched into the cameras inside the building, and we've been watching them from there. Dr. Harris over there has been recording all of their movements. You should talk to him to see what you're up against."

"Doctor Harris?" Garrison inquired to a gray-haired man talking to another cop.

"Yes?" The doctor said, turning around.

"I'm in charge of the situation now. What can you tell me about the terrorists?"

"First, did the government release the requested people from prison?"

"No. They refused."

"Good. That is not their objective. There is a higher motive to all of this. You see, they said that they would execute a hostage every five to fifteen minutes. That is completely unreasonable, and they knew it."

"What are you saying? They had an unstated objective?" 

"They didn't just pick the university because of the large number of people inside. They were looking for something. Or possibly someone. Something went wrong in there. They were expecting quick in and out, but they fucked up. They know that they are going to die or go to prison. They will give their lives before they are taken to prison."

"I think we should plan for an assault on the side of the building. Is that where you said they were being held?" 

"Yes. When the terrorists first came into the building, they put all of the people into one of two rooms. This one on the West side of the building, or this one on the north. They also have people in the office and.…" Doctor Harris stopped speaking. 

His eyes were transfixed on the screen of the laptop, which was displaying the inside of the office. 

"What in the bloody hell happened in there?" Garrison said to no one in particular. The place was a slaughterhouse. There were at least six or seven bodies in the room, all with blood pooling around them.

"Looks like they decided to screw with the wrong man." Garrison said, taking a cigar out of his pocket and lighting it.

"The wrong man? We don't know if this was done by one man or fifty….unless there's something you aren't telling us." The doctor inquired, narrowing his eyes at the General.

"The man that did this used to be a Navy SEAL team leader. He left the service about six years ago, and started college at this University. He's a tough bastard. He's been known to take out entire squadrons in seconds. He does it so quietly that you could hear a pin drop. Taught his team to do the same. After the team's success in the Middle East, they were nicknamed 'The Ghosts'."

"I'll take over from here, gentleman. You are relieved." Garrison picked up his Comm and started talking quietly into it. Then he glanced up to a section of the building, and the helicopter began circling closely again.

"He saw us." Link said. He ducked under the window with Grady.

"Now what?" 

"Now, we have to wait until the helicopter shows up. We have to jump onto the helicopter so it can take us to ground level." Link said.

"Are you psycho? We can't jump onto a helicopter. Too many things could go wrong. We have to find a different way."

The two sat there for a moment, pondering their situation. Before they could decide, however, there was a series of screams from the rooms that the students were in. Grady and Link glanced at each other with raised eyebrows.

"There were no gunshots." Link said after a moment.

"And they don't have suppressors." Grady said quickly. They were both thinking the same thing. 

They jumped to their feet and ran towards the rooms. Link motioned for Grady to cover one, and Link took the other.

Grady leaned against the door, and heard people crying, and footsteps. He backed off, and ran at the door, kicking it off of its hinges. 

"Down! Down! Out of the way!" He yelled, running inside. His expression immediately turned to one of fear when he saw what had caused the commotion. 

The three terrorist bodies that Link and Grady had dispatched earlier were right where they had fallen, but in a completely different state. There was no form to the pool of blood and organs that was in front of Grady, and he walked slowly over to it. What was left of the body was steaming, and being eaten away by something. It smelled strongly of onions, and the carpet was melted away where the body used to be. The other two bodies were in the same state.

Grady walked out of the room, and went into the other classroom. It appeared that those bodies were in the same condition. Link turned around, and shook his head at Grady.

"He's back. I can't believe it. I thought we killed that motherfucker. How did he come back this time?" Link wondered aloud.

"Who's back? How did this happen?" Grady looked more confused than ever.

"Ganon. He's back. Only a strong magic source could have cast this spell. We have to get these people out of here and into the commons. We have to get a hold of Garrison too."

"Let's get moving then." Grady walked out, and leaned against the wall for a moment. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. They had gone through so much to kill that bastard, and he was back? A good friend of theirs had given her life so that Ganon could be killed. Grady shook the thought from his head, and focused on the present. He had a job to do. He walked into the other room.

"Ladies and gentleman, could I have your attention please? We need to go to the commons. Follow me, please." Grady began to walk out, but a voice stopped him.

"Who died and made you leader?" A snobbish voice said.

Grady turned to see a sophomore looking at him with a superior expression on his face. 

"I ain't goin nowhere until the cops come."

Grady stared at him with a blank face, and finally spoke.

"Who's got the gun here? Me or you?" He said, shooting in the air once. A light sparked and turned off, a 7.62mm bullet ending its life.

The sophomore cringed, and nodded. Grady turned back around, and motioned for everyone to follow him. They did, and were on their way to the commons.

The commons was just a large white room with tables and vending machines. It was large enough to hold the entire school if necessary. A few minutes later, Link showed up with the other half of the University.

"How did it go?" Link asked as he approached Grady. 

"Relatively well. One person argued, but my AK convinced him otherwise. How about you?"

"No one argued. I think they're afraid of me after what I did to the terrorists."

"I would be too if I saw someone take down a few terrorists without blinking an eye." Grady said with a serious expression.

Link laughed, and turned towards the students.

"Listen, the cops will be here soon. I want everyone to stay here. Nobody leave or go to your dorm rooms. I need some people who will volunteer to be the spokesperson for the class."

The room fell silent, and Aria raised her hand.

"I'll do it. Can I talk to you Link?" 

"Yeah, hold on a sec." Link again addressed the congregation. 

"Look, you've been through a lot since this morning. Everyone just sit down, and try to think things through." Slowly, people began to sit, and those who couldn't find a seat just sat against the wall. Link motioned for Aria to come with him, and she followed. When they were out in the hall, Link turned to her and was assaulted with a fierce hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She said, tears forming in her eyes. Link hugged her back.

"Shh. It's okay. They're dead. They won't hurt me or you." Link said softly. Aria broke away, and smiled weakly.

"I'm not in second grade. You don't have to play that game with me." She said, giggling softly.

"Sorry." Was all Link could manage.

"That's okay. Anyway, I brought you out here because of what happened to those terrorists."

"I know. He's back." Link sighed. "I'm feeling some guilt now about Lita. She shouldn't have sacrificed herself so that we could defeat Ganon. We could have done it without her sacrifice. Now she's died in vain."

"Not necessarily, Link. Someone else could have performed that spell."

"But who?" Link said quickly. "Only Ganon could have performed something that complicated."

"Still, I'm pretty sure it wasn't Ganon. I can't feel the Triforce of Power, which means it's still banished to the Sacred Realm."

"Yeah, I guess. Look, I have to go now. You tell the police the story. I'll be back, and when I do, I'll have the Ghosts with me."

He turned to walk away, but Aria stopped him. He looked into her eyes for a moment, seeing the fear and hurt that she has gone through over the past few years. Suddenly, she pulled his lips to hers, and the two locked in a fiery embrace. He broke the kiss after a while, and stared into her hazel eyes. 

"I love you." He whispered quietly. That one, simple phrase had a great impact on her. He saw the fire return to her eyes, and the fear and hurt swept away by the soldier inside of her.

"I love you too. Now, go Ghost hunting." Link grinned, and saluted, before walking back inside to get Grady. She watched him leave, and then went inside to wait for the authorities.

Grady had seen the whole affair outside the commons. When Aria had kissed Link, Grady felt all the pain of love from his alternate past resurface. Memories, painful and joyous, flashed before his eyes.

The first kiss between him and Lita. The hoots and hollers of the team when Lita had told them they were engaged. The deep hole in his heart when Ganondorf's army had captured her. The knife going through his heart when she sacrificed herself so that Ganon could be defeated. All these things flashed through his mind. 

He felt tears coming, but refused to let them be seen. He was a soldier. One of the best, in fact. He wouldn't let emotions get in the way. He suddenly noticed Link walk back in, and he hurried inside, lest Link discover him eavesdropping.

He stood near a table, looking bored, when Link noticed him.

"We need to go. Aria's going to take care of the police for us." Link said quietly. 

"How are we going to get out without somebody noticing?" Grady asked.

"We'll warp. Remember the songs that we used to get out of numerous sticky situations back during the second Imprisoning War? We can still use them." 

"I hated that. It always left me with this numb feeling in my hands. But, it's the only way out of here, so we had better get moving." Grady said, sighing. He put his hand on Link's shoulder, and Link took a harmonica out of his pocket. He played a tune, and the scene began changing. Suddenly, they were enveloped in a blue light. The world began spinning incredibly fast, and there was a great roaring sound. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped, and they were standing on the beaches of Lake Hylia.

Grady took a few steps, and then beat his hands against a tree. 

"I've got the same damn numb feeling."

Link laughed, and the two began walking towards a bus stop. They sat down on the bench, and began to think out their situation.

"Alright, the government had to have kept tabs on the guys, so if we could get into their database, then we could find where they were. Isn't that right?" Link asked, glancing over at Grady. Grady was staring down the street, with sad eyes.

"Grady, I know it's hard to lose a loved one. My parents were killed when Ganondorf invaded. It hurts, but you have to get on with life. If you keep dwelling on what could have been, you'll wither away, until there's nothing left inside that head except a picture of Lita. Let her go. That's what she would have wanted." Link said sincerely, giving him a pat on the back.

"Yeah…I guess." He said after a while.

"What were you saying?" Grady asked, looking back to Link.

"Well, wouldn't the government know where the other guys were? Could we hack into their databases and find out?" Link wondered.

"We don't need to hack into their databases. I know where they all are. It's just a matter of picking up the phone and dialing a number." Grady grinned, and stood up when he heard the distinct noise of the brakes on a bus.

"I like that." Link said, nodding his head. "I'll call squad one, you call squad two."

"Yes, sir." Grady said, standing up and saluting him.

"That's lieutenant to you." Link said smiling.

"You'll get over it." Grady said, walking up to the bus when the doors opened. Link chuckled softly, and followed Grady. The bus driver was a large African American woman.

"Where y'all headed?" She asked.

"Downtown. East Pavilion square." Grady said, handing her a five-dollar bill.

"Take a seat." She said, motioning to the back of the bus. Link and Grady sat down, and closed their eyes, welcoming the sleep that was lingering at the back of their minds.

"Fellas. Wake up. This is where you get off." The driver shook Link and Grady, and they slowly awoke.

"Wha? What do you want?" Grady asked, obviously annoyed at having been woken up.

"We're at Pavilion Square."

Realization struck, and he immediately sat up. 

"Oh! Link, wake up." He said, punching him in the ribs. Link sat up slowly, but his eyes flew open when he saw the driver.

"We're at our destination?" He asked the driver. She nodded.

"Thanks." Link mumbled, and walked off the bus. Grady followed, and it rumbled off a few moments later.

"Now what?" Grady asked.

"We go to the garage. There'll be phones there we can use."

"I have the numbers in my wallet." Grady mumbled as they walked down the street. They came to a fairly large building, and Link unlocked the door.

Grady followed him inside, and they went into an office of sorts, with papers strewn all over, and three phones sitting on the desk.

"We'll use these to call them, and then we'll hitch a ride over to the FBI headquarters to talk to Garrison." Grady picked up a phone, and dialed a number. In a few seconds, someone picked up on the other line.

"Hi, is Austin available?"

Well, I hope it was good. I've been throwing an idea for a fic around my head for a few days, and just posted the first chapter. Its called Legend of Zelda: The Hunter. Go read it and review it and this!


	5. Chapter 5

Undertaker here. It shouldn't be as confusing as the last few chapters, so your minds can take a break. This will give an outlook of what the rest of the story will be like. Enough with the Undertaker, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, or any characters associated with it, Nintendo does. I do, however, own the souls of the characters that I created

Ghosts of the Past

Five Apache gunships flew over Hyrule field, gliding across the land in the dark of night. Their pilots had been waiting all day to strike the enemy, because if they were seen bad things could happen.

Janet glanced moved her head around, making sure her fifty caliber chain gun was zeroed in. It followed her every move, so she left it. 

"How we doin back there, boys?" She asked into the comm. 

"We're just lying in wait, Robin." A smooth voice replied. 

It was her good ol' wingman, Josh Raffer. His callsign was Striker, for his swift and deadly attacks. Janet's callsign was Robin, because she could fly the Apache like a robin can fly.

A few drops of rain fell on her canopy, and then a full rainstorm came down.

"Dammit, not another one." She cursed under her breath.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I hate cleaning out those missile ports after they get wet. But, I think it's worth it if we get to blow shit up." He chirped happily.

"Whatever." She said casually. He was constantly trying to hit on her, and she succeeded in blowing him off every time. 

"I have a visual." Her copilot said. 

"Let's move about three clicks closer, near that ridge, and then we'll open up." She instructed her team. 

She flew off in that direction, and hovered just above the Kakariko graveyard. Her NVGs allowed her to see perfectly in the dark, and she saw someone walk out of the house right next to the graveyard entrance with a lamp, and he looked around, trying to find the source of the loud noise that their rotors were creating. She shook her head, wondering what he must have been thinking. 

She pushed the amusing gravekeeper out of her head, and focused on the convoy of enemy tanks that they were supposed to take out.

"There it is." Striker said.

"Light them up on my mark...three...two...one...mark." 

At that moment, anyone who was awake in Kakariko would have been scared out of their minds, and anyone who was sleeping would have been woken up. There was a booming, screaming sound, and Hellfire missiles flew towards their targets by the dozen at super speeds. There was a series of blinding flashes as the missiles blew out of their holders at the wings of the gunships. 

Janet watched her target, waiting for it to erupt in flames. It was still there, and she cursed. 

"I missed." She hissed quietly. Her copilot heard her, and laughed.

"Ha! I told you you'd miss. You should have let me take care of the payload." He snickered, lining up a sidewinder missile on the tank. At that moment, it erupted in flames, and the turret blew off. 

"Oh, I guess I didn't miss." Janet observed.

"There may be hope for you yet." Her copilot chuckled.

"Don't make fun of me." She turned her head to look at him, curling her lip in a mock pout. He grinned, and then burst out laughing. She couldn't help it, and laughed too. 

The group of gunships ascended into the clouds, and headed in the direction of their base.

Janet decided to play with Josh, and started to inch closer to his chopper. 

"Robin, you're getting a little close." He warned her. She pretended not to listen, and kept inching closer.

"Robin, back off." He said again. He heard her laugh, and he narrowed his eyes. He looked in the direction of her gunship, and his chain gun followed his head, pointing at the canopy of her chopper.

She gave an eek and pulled up, staying behind him. 

"That wasn't funny." She pouted.

"You shouldn't be messing around in a two million dollar vehicle." He said sternly.

"Hard-ass." She muttered into the comm.

"I heard that." He said, annoyed. She sighed, and spotted the base. 

"We're home, boys." She glided over to her designated helipad, and landed with a grace that not many pilots have the honor of possessing.

She opened the canopy, and took off her helmet, swaying her hair around. She deposited the helmet in the seat, and jumped down off of the chopper. 

Janet was short for a pilot, standing at 4'11". The Army had to get her a custom helicopter so that she could reach the pedals. She had brown hair that went down to her shoulders, and she was very attractive. A special agent walked up to her, and shook her hand.

"Hi, my name is agent Smith. I'm with an agency that deals with any magical dangers in the modern world."

"You wouldn't even get a lunch break here, then. Ancient Hyrule has so many problems with that stuff, it's unbelievable." She said, walking towards the debriefing room. The maintenance crew for her bird began to saunter up to it, to top off the gas tank and reload all the guns.

Smith opened the door for Janet, and she smiled at him before walking into a black room.

"Alright, what do you want. And don't say dinner tonight." 

"Well, I suppose you've heard of the team that's supposed to arrive next week."

"Yeah, I've heard a lot about them. Isn't the Hero of Time leading them?" She asked, opening a beer and sitting in one of the folding metal chairs. He sat down opposite her.

"Yes. I've talked to him, and he has agreed to come back." Smith said, scratching his head.

"Oh my God! You've met him? Is he hot?" She asked with wide eyes.

He stared at her blankly. 

"Nevermind, just what do you want?" She asked again impatiently.

"Well, here's a file about his team. They're called the Ghosts. Everything in that file happened in an alternate universe. Now, after you read it, I want you to consider taking the place of a deceased member of the team. I know you have a background with the Delta and Green Berets, so please consider." 

Smith got up, and walked out, disappearing into the horde of people getting food in the cafeteria.

All the other pilots and copilots from her flight group walked in, and took their seats, with beers and vodkas in their hands. Janet's copilot, Jack, sat down next to her.

"What's up?" He asked, motioning towards the file in her hand. 

"It's the background of the Hero of Time's Special Forces team. Look at these guys," she said, showing him various pictures of the team members, "they're huge. This guy looks like he could take out a polar bear with his bare hands." She said, pointing to a portrait of a large black haired man. 

"Kyle Romero," Jack read from the profile that was next to the picture, "Interesting name." 

"Yeah.." She was staring at the portrait of the only deceased member of the Ghosts. It was a picture of a pointy-eared young woman. She had red hair, and looked to be of Mexican descent. 

"Hey, let's look at that later in the barracks. The General's coming."

The General walked in, and so began the boring debriefing that always comes after an assignment.

*****

Grady stared at the people gathered before him. They were the best of the best of the best. No other Special Forces group could even come close to rivaling them. The eight men before him made up the infamous elite soldiers known as the Ghosts.

"Gentlemen, you've been briefed on the situation." He said, walking along the row of soldiers. He stopped in front of a particularly muscular soldier. 

"Isn't that right, Vegas?" 

Jason Vegas stepped forward, standing at complete attention. 

"Sir, there's an ass out there begging for a kickin, and we're the boot that's going to kick that ass, sir!" 

"Well put, soldier." Grady smiled at him.

"However, you haven't been told the whole story." Grady said, stopping in front of Matt Hanec. 

Hanec was one of the snipers for the team. He was the only person for five thousand miles that could lug a forty-pound rifle through the battlefield with a smile on his face. 

"Sir, yes sir!" 

"Alright, gentlemen, follow me into the briefing room." Grady proceeded out of the locker room, turned right in the hall, and unlocked a steel reinforced door. He paused, turning to the team.

"Beyond this door, there is no turning back. What you witness in this room will forever change your lives. Any man who wishes to turn back now will be allowed to do so without any criticism." 

He watched the team intently. No one moved an inch. Grady smiled. 

He punched in a number on a keypad, and the door swung open with a loud click.

"Gentlemen, welcome to your future." 

They walked in, and were astounded at what they saw. 

The room was at least the size of a few warehouses. There was a big Plexiglas dome in the middle, with a large cable attached to it. There were tons of computers scattered throughout the room, and scientists in white lab coats.

Grady stood in front of the team, and cleared his throat to get their attention. 

"Link will be here shortly. Until then, Doctor Bilinear will explain what you will be doing for the next half a year." 

Link was walking down the hall, looking at a clipboard containing the extent of their trip back in time.

They will be using a time machine to go anywhere in the world. The machine would have a lasting effect on the troops, so they advised Link to 'use caution'.

__

Bullshit. If these guys can take seeing a giant pig, they can take this. Link thought. 

He came to a door that had two armed guards, and one of them held out his hand. Link fished around in his pocket, and pulled out his ID card. The guard looked it over, and signaled for Link to pass.

Grady was waiting for him at the door to the time lab. Grady smiled, and motioned to the door.

"Ready to save the world again?" 

Link grinned. "You bet your ass I am." 

Link stood there, thinking about his men.

"You're thinking again. That's not good." Grady said. Link looked confused.

"Don't try that 'what are you talking about' deal, because I can read you like a book."

Link looked downcast. "I'm just a little apprehensive about leading them again. There could be a million things going through their minds right now. Anger. Betrayal. Trust. Friendship." 

"Look, they all know you did the right thing. If Lita hadn't sacrifice herself, we might not be standing here right now."

"I guess. Still, you know what it's like to lose a friend. They could be pretty angry."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Grady pressed a few buttons on the keypad, and the door clicked open. 

The team looked up when the door opened, and immediately they all felt the same thing. Respect. 

They stood at attention, saluting. Link saluted back.

"Boys," he said, lowering his arm, "its been a while."

The head lab technician was explaining to them how the vast time machine worked. Apparently, it was powered by a small amount of plutonium. They had used it once before, and it had run smoothly. The only danger was the stress that one's body goes through.

Normally, going back in time wouldn't be dangerous to the body, but this machine was special. 

Most of the other machines that they had could only send things back to a certain coordinate on the globe. However, this machine could transport troops to any coordinates in the world. Thus, there are some physical dangers. 

"Now," Doctor Martin explained, "you will be going back in time tomorrow. It will be almost like a normal deployment. You will get suited up, and be sent to the destination. However, this will also be vastly different."

Dr. Martin paused.

"First of all, you will be all alone out there. No air cover, no medivacs," Dan Moran, the team's corpsmen, cursed at hearing this, "and no help from friendly forces." Martin finished.

Justin Santago raised his hand.

"Excuse me, senor, but will we have hummwvs?" the Mexican asked.

"Yes and no. You will be given horses for the operations in the market towns. Otherwise, you will have some kind of vehicle." 

"Gracias, senor." 

"Also, you will be given rations by informants who are stationed at certain places across the country. If you have any further questions, ask him." Martin said, pointing to Link.

"Alright, boys, follow me to the armory so you can pick your poison." Link said. 

There were grins from the Ghosts as they began to heatedly discuss what weapon they preferred.

Link led them to a large door labeled Armory. Link swiped his ID card in the reader next to the door, and it opened swiftly. 

The team stared at the contents of the room with wide eyes. Never before had they been trusted with such a vast amount of weapons in one room.

The walls of the room were covered top to bottom with guns of all kinds, from single shot .50 caliber BigBangs to .38 special pistols, this place had it all.

Hanec immediately spotted the Barrett M82A1 from across the room, and went over to it. He had never before seen a more spectacular weapon. It had a black finish that didn't glare in sunlight, and the magazine held eleven rounds. It had a hydraulic recoil system, which made the recoil feel like a .300 Winchester magnum instead of an Anti-tank gun. 

Frank Kose was in Heaven. There was an entire shelf of the room that was covered in explosives. He was the Demolition expert of the group, and knew what the best explosive was for every situation. He had grown up on a farm making C4 explosives out of household chemicals, and had always had a knack for blowing things up. He spotted a duffel bag, and snatched it, loading it with every explosive he desired.

Link saw Kose's eyes g wide when he saw the explosives and Link just shook his head. He walked towards Hanec, and when Hanec spotted him, he held the Barrett protectively, giving Link a look that said 'touch my gun and die'. 

There was one rack of guns that had foreign firearms on it, and Link spotted his favorite gun in the world. The SA-80 was perhaps the finest assault rifle on the market today.

It was very unique in the sense that the magazine and the action were behind the pistol grip. This made for much higher accuracy without needing a long barrel, and it had a small scope/NVG on it. It wouldn't jam even in the harshest conditions, and it was waterproof.

The British SAS used this rifle as a standard weapon, and they are perfectly satisfied with it. Link had fallen in love with the rifle when he was competing against a Brit in a national rifle shoot. 

It was a long course. The shooters had to shoot fifteen targets in twenty seconds, pop four balloons, and then do the same on their stomachs, at an angle, and at an elevated position. You were timed from when you started shooting to when you finished shooting. Link offered to go first, and the Brit didn't argue. Link was making incredible time, until his AR-15 jammed. He had to take out the magazine, get the jammed cartridge out of the weapon, put a fresh magazine in, and cock it. This docked him about ten seconds, which was enough to lose to the Brit. 

After Link lost, the he and the Brit got to talking. The man's name was Bradley, and he had won the competition before. Bradley offered Link to try his gun, and Link couldn't resist. With Bradley's rifle, Link beat Bradley by eight seconds. The two became friends, and from that day on, Link had always wanted one of those rifles. 

This particular SA-80 was completely black, from the stock to the action. It was a non-glare finish, and the magazine capacity was forty rounds. Link attached a sling to the rifle, and put it in a duffel bag. Then he went to check out the pistols. 

Jason Vegas had always been a fan of big guns. When he was fourteen, his dad had gotten him a .44 Magnum revolver for his birthday. Vegas loved the gun. It was immensely powerful, and Vegas loved the feel of it more than any other handgun on the market. After picking out an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, Vegas headed over to the handgun section to pick out a sidearm. 

He came to a shelf that was loaded with magnums. It had everything from Desert Eagles to pocket revolvers. Vegas picked out a six-shot Taurus Raging Bull. This .44 Magnum revolver was the same kind that his dad had gotten him, but this one had a black finish like most of the guns in the room. 

The Ghosts spent the next hour in the Armory, reminiscing of old times and familiarizing themselves with their guns. 

Whew! Well, I'm afraid you guys probably won't get an update until after Thanksgiving on this fic or The Hunter. Thank you Great Divide, Junky, and Lunatic Pandora for your friendly reviews. As always, please review! 


	6. Chapter 6

The team was all just sitting around, all suited up and ready to go. Tim Connely yawned for what must have been the thirtieth time in one hour. His eyes were closed, but sleep wouldn't come. 

"When are we going?" Connely asked, irritation evident in his voice. He opened his eyes and glanced over in Link's direction, only to find that their fearless leader was sawing logs, with his finger on the trigger of his SA-80.

Connely sighed and shook his head. Frank Kose was toying with something in his hand, and Connely peered over to try and get a better look.

"What are you doing?" 

Kose looked over his shoulder at Connely. "I'm making an engagement ring out of C4." He grinned.

"I believe the point is to impress the woman, not blow her up. Janet wouldn't approve." 

Every man had a weak spot, and for Kose, it was women. He cringed, and looked at the pitiful molding in his hand.

"But it won't blow up without a primer." Kose whined. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a match, and stuck it in the C4. The funny thing about C4 was that if it didn't have a primer, it just burned for a very long time, but wasn't explosive.

Connely shook his head, and after getting a disapproving look from Tomilson, Kose stuffed the C4 into a leather pouch in his pocket.

A few hours later, Garrison walked in. 

"Its time, boys."

The Ghosts walked down the hall, their gear consisting of their respective weapons, extra ammunition, MREs and water, and other small things such as NVGs and silencers.

"What took so long?" Link asked, walking beside Garrison.

"We were discussing naval tactics with Rear Admiral John Turry. He says he isn't afraid to provide every bit of support for you guys, even Broken Arrow."

"Well, let's hope we never have to use Broken Arrow." 

The term Broken Arrow used only in emergency. Troops used it when their lines were being breached. It meant that all available aircraft were to redirect their payload of bombs and such to the front lines to hold back the advancing enemies. 

"Anyway, I want you to know that this isn't Iraq. If you're captured, we will mount a rescue mission. The methods for torture back then were a lot more painful, and brought the strongest men to their breaking points real quick. We can't have any of your men squealing our plans to the enemy." Garrison unlocked the door to the time machine, and motioned for Link to go through. 

"I don't think you'll have to worry about my men. Actually, I take that back, Kose will talk if you threaten his genitals."

Garrison cringed. "And the others won't talk if their genitals were threatened?"

"He's the only one we tested." Link said, his face never changing expressions.

Inside the time machine room, there were chairs set up. Garrison motioned for them to sit down.

After everyone had settled in, Garrison cleared his throat and began.

"Alright, first of all, I'd like to say that this will be nothing like other operations. Most of the time, you won't have air cover. The enemy is ruthless, but they also don't know that you exist. It's a very risky situation. Second, I'd like to go over the battle plan."

Garrison turned on an overhead projector, which displayed a map of Ancient Hyrule.

"You will be inserted a hundred and twenty miles north of Castleton. Castleton is the main town of Hyrule, and it is situated right in front of Hyrule castle." 

Garrison turned on an overhead projection, and pointed to a part of the map displayed.

"You will be given swords to use when you get there. I have to ask you to keep your guns hidden unless it's an emergency. These people have never heard a gunshot, so eyebrows will be raised if you shoot at anything. Your insertion point will be known as Little Green." Garrison said

"Sir." Link said.

"What?" 

"We already have swords." The General considered this for a moment, and then shrugged his shoulders. 

"Okay, I'll sell them to support the GBD."

The team gave him confused looks. "Well," he explained, "the GBD is the Ghost Beer Drive. We're trying to get you free beer throughout the war." The team cheered, and exchanged high-fives.

"Now, as I was saying," the General turned to the map, "There is a road approximately five miles from your insertion zone that crosses Hyrule Field and stops at the gate to Castleton. You will follow it until you come here." The General pointed to a small red dot on the map.

"It's a few miles away from Castleton, and I want you to set up a small post to rendezvous at when necessary."

The General put up a different picture on the overhead, which showed an overview of Castleton.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you have any specific coordinates for the bunker?" The General shook his head.

"It just needs to be well out of eyesight from any guards that might be stationed near the walls."

Santago and Von began chuckling about something, and the General cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Is there something you boys would like to share?"

"Well," Von started, "we were just wondering when the new girl was going to grace us with her presence."

The General grinned. "Don't worry, I'll I have an informant who will bring her or the next person on the list to a meeting point in Castleton." 

Garrison turned his attention back to the display of Castleton. 

"Okay, once you get settled in, I want you to get jobs at specific locations in Castleton for intelligence purposes."

He pointed to a building that seemed to have a lot of people going in and out.

"I want the support gunners to get bartending jobs at the local bar," Romero and Vegas grinned at each other, "and keep your ears open for anything that you might hear from the regular drunks."

He pointed at another location. "I want Von and Santago at the Archery shop, right here by the fountain." 

He switched the picture to one of the front of the castle itself.

"Now, this is very important. I want Hanec, Aria, and the new recruit stationed in the castle with Link. Now, Link, I am giving you the most important job." 

"Our enemy has begun to make attacks on the princess herself. They are trying to take out two birds with one stone, because if Zelda, Aria's ancestor, were killed, Aria would cease to exist. In one of the recent attacks, Zelda's old bodyguard was killed. They are having a competition for her new bodyguard in a week or two. I want Link to be her new bodyguard."

The team gave Link high fives, and Garrison turned off the overhead. 

"Any questions?" the team gave no response.

"Okay, next, Dr. Martin will talk with you about the medical dangers of the time machine." 

Garrison walked off, and Dr. Martin walked in front of the team. 

"There are a few things that could go wrong, but the main one that you have to worry about is the weird time shift. It's early in the morning now, but its going to be dark when you get there in a few hours. Moran, this is where you come in. If anyone faints, just give them a sedative to last until the opposite time of the day. That will clear up any internal clock problems." 

A lab tech walked up to the doctor, and whispered in his ear. 

"We are ahead of schedule. You will be sent back in time momentarily." Dr. Martin walked off, leaving the trooops to wander around, looking at all the funny-looking things around the lab.

Jones was right where he was supposed to be, waiting with the horses that the Ghosts were supposed to use. He was hiding in the backdrop of a clearing situated in the Lost Woods. He was eager to meet the Hero of Time. It was rumored that the man could break the neck of a moblin with his bare hand. 

Jones was an intelligence officer for Garrison, who asked him to be here for the Ghosts. 

A small blue ball of light began forming in the middle of the clearing, and Jones grinned. 

__

About damn time.

Link and the team were currently joking about all the possible scenarios that could occur with a rocket launcher that was hidden inside a lamp. 

"Oh! I've got one!" Hanec said. They all fell silent to hear what he had to say. 

"A couple are having sex, and the girl suddenly stops. 'I can't do this anymore', she says. She sits up, and goes to turn on the bedside lamp. She pushes the rocket ignition, and the launcher goes off and blows away the roof. The guy just stares at the gapping hole for a while, and finally says: I wasn't that bad, was I?" 

The team just stared at him, with blank looks on their faces. 

"Don't you guys get it?" 

"You're stupid." Romero finally said. There were murmured agreements from the rest of the team, and they walked off, leaving the blonde sniper to think it over.

Dr. Martin suddenly ushered them all in front of the time machine, and started rubbing his hands together excitedly. 

"And now, I present to you the greatest achievement of modern science."

He opened the door to the time machine, allowing the Ghosts to step inside the small chamber. It was very bright, and it could only fit about twenty-five at the most. There was a small instrument in front of the glass pane, and Dr. Martin went up to it. The team followed him.

"Now, the actual button to initiate the sequence must be pushed at the same time as the one outside. This was made to make sure that no one person could go back in time alone. At the count of three, push the button." Link nodded, and Dr. Martin walked out, sealing the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I have a victory dance." Vegas said, displaying twelve Cuban cigars. 

"I was wondering if anyone would remember." Link grinned, as he put one of the Cuban treasures into a silver case. It had been a tradition that after every successful mission, the team would light up cigars. 

Once the entire team had pocketed the cigars, Link gave Martin a nod, and the Doctor started up the machine. Two large discs began to rotate at very high speeds outside of the room, and the entire place began to vibrate.

Link watched Martin, and when he counted to three, Link signaled for Aria to push the button. The response was slow, but effective. The previously white light turned to a light blue, until finally a darker shade of blue, and Link could faintly hear the Song of Time. Then, everything went white. 

They were in a tunnel of some kind, witnessing events of the past. They saw a few flashes of battles from Vietnam, Then WWII and WWI, then the developement of West Hyrule, and then before they knew it, they were witnessing battles from the first Imprisoning War. 

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped.

They found themselves in the middle of a clearing, in the dead of night. The first thing they noticed was the smell. It didn't smell like noxious gases, but rather like the earth. It was a fresher smell and a very pleasing one at that. 

After the Ghosts had examined their new environment, battle instincts took over, and they immediately moved to the edge of the forest, their weapons shouldered, and set up a perimeter. 

They were dead still. They had their NVGs on, and were scanning the forest in search of anything that might have seen them. Hanec spotted someone moving through the brush, and immediately put the crosshairs on him.

"Bogey spotted. Heading towards us at six o'clock." He whispered into his radio.

"I hear ya." Vegas said, moving silently through he brush, his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon shouldered and set on rock-and-roll.

"Come on, give the sign." Link whispered to himself. They were supposed to meet someone here, and they were supposed to turn on an infrared strobe, so they knew who he was and could identify him easily. After a few minutes, the bogey turned on the strobe. It began blinking in intervals of two seconds.

"Right, he's our man. Stand down." Link whispered into his comm.

"Copy that." Hanec said, safing his .300 Winchester Magnum. His massive fifty-caliber rifle was disassembled in a leather knapsack, being too big to carry around for long distances.

Hanec waited until the informant walked right by him, and then the blonde sniper slowly enclosed his hand around the man's arm. Jones gave a startled jump, and turned to Hanec with a knife drawn. Hanec laughed.

"Why so jumpy?" Hanec asked quietly. He heard the man swear, and the team chuckled to themselves. 

"Well, I'm Jones. It's nice to see you've arrived in good humor. Where's the Hero of Time?" He said, annoyed. 

"First of all, he doesn't like being called the Hero of Time, because he doesn't like being reminded that he's responsible for the world, he likes being called Big Daddy Ghost, and second, he's straight behind me about twenty steps." Hanec said quickly, and continued peering through his scope.

Jones just stared at him for a second, before muttering a thanks.

He walked twenty steps, but didn't hear or see a goddamn thing. 

"Big Daddy Ghost?" He whispered.

"What?" A voice said from behind him. Jones turned to see Link before him, standing up, looking into his eyes.

__

Jesus Christ. These guys own _the forest. _

"I have your horses." Jones said to him, suddenly feeling insignificant. 

"Right on, show us."

"Follow me." Jones assumed Link was following him, because he couldn't hear a sound other than his own footsteps. 

Josh Von sat silently as the morning sun popped over the horizon, sending an orange glow over the land. This woke up most of the Ghosts, and they began moving about, doing their business and saddling the horses. Von had had the last shift of night watch, so he had the pleasure of watching the Godesses' creations. Von had been studying to be a priest for a few years, until he decided that the priestly life wasn't for him, and he decided to join the army. Ten years later, he was recruited for a Special Forces team, and now he's on the best Special Forces team in the world.

Jason Vegas was walking around his horse, waking it up. "It's nice out here for the middle of June. What's the temp?" 

Link glanced at his watch. "Seventy-five Fahrenheit."

Link took this time to properly take in his surroundings. There was a temple of some kind, but the stairs were busted off halfway down. A large tree shaded the entrance, and a tree stump was on the other side of the entrance. Link dismissed it as The Forest Temple, and walked over to his horse. It was jet black, like all the other horses, and Link had named it Shadow. Just as Link finished tightening the saddle, Santago drew his attention.

"Yo, Big Daddy, what is this?" The Latino said. He was staring at a small stone triangle that was covered largely with moss. 

"Rip up the moss." Link instructed Romero. The big man took a handful of the moss, and pulled with all his might. The moss was torn from its roots, revealing a large stone hexagon, upon which the Triforce was carved.

"Be careful, there's a magical presence here." Aria said over Link's shoulder.

The team all turned and looked at Aria with blank looks. 

"What she's trying to say is that at any time, some beastly horror of a thing could pop out at us and rip off a limb, so watch it."

Von and Santago nodded, and went over to their horses. The rest of the team did the same. They started down the trail, and came upon a flight of stairs leading down to a narrow valley. At the end of the valley was a massive creature with a club in his hands.

"What in the blue hell is that?" Romero wondered aloud. 

"That is an old-style moblin. These ones are big furry creatures that make funny noises and they brandish everything from knives and sharp sticks to bows and arrows. This moblin is a guard. He isn't supposed to let anyone through. He'll stop at nothing to carry out his orders."

"Kose, you got the AT-4 ready?" Link asked without looking back.

"Yeah, why?" 

"I want this thing's head in a thousand pieces."

"Affirmative, sir." Kose grinned, and dismounted, searching through his bag of tricks for the game known as the Anti-tank rocket launcher.

"Wait, Link, won't they hear the noise?" Moran asked from behind Kose. Kose stopped searching through his bag, and looked at Aria.

"The Lost Woods trap all sound. No sound from outside comes in, and no sound from inside goes out. It's fine." She heard assorted clicks from behind her, and Link chuckled. After hearing this news, the entire team had pulled out their sidearms.

Kose continued searching for the AT-4, and finally lifted the tube out of the bag, and went to the other side of his horse. There, he opened another bag lined with AT-4 rockets. He took two, and walked to the side of Link's horse. He put a rocket down the tube, and hoisted it over his shoulder, kneeling in a firing position. His hand rested on the side of the tube, where the firing button was located. 

The moblin never saw what was coming for it. Kose always grinned when he was about to blow something up, and this was true when he put the moblin's chest in his sights. He grinned, and squeezed the button. The weapon recoiled, and sent a missile streaking towards it, leaving a vapor trail as it went. The last thing that the moblin did was look up in shock, and then the missile struck home. 

The moblin's chest blew away, and it was thrown on its back, unmoving. When the smoke cleared, the moblin was lying on the ground, a gaping, smoking hole in its chest.

Kose stood up, with the At-4 on his shoulder.

"It has been done," he said, imitating a robot.

"And done well, my friend." Link said.

Kose mounted his horse again, and the Ghosts moved on. 

They came to another flight of stairs, and walked down. As soon as Link's head came into view, a moblin ran at him down the narrow alley, and swatted him off of his horse. He rolled on the ground to try to avoid the creature, but it grabbed his neck and lifted him to its face. Link reacted instantly, pulling his Desert Eagle from its holster behind his back, and unloaded all eight rounds into the moblin's chest. It jerked to and fro as he was shooting it, and it finally relinquished its grip and dropped him. Link released the spent mag, and jammed another in and cycled it. He didn't need it, though, as the moblin had already fallen over, gushing blood from eight large holes in its chest. 

"Link, are you alright?" Aria asked as she rushed to his side. Moran followed after, looking at his neck. 

"You might have a few bruises, but nothing severe. You got lucky." 

"I got stupid. If that was one of the new moblins, I wouldn't have a head anymore." Link said. Moran offered him a hand up, and he accepted it. Link turned to the team.

"I don't want anyone to hesitate about shooting anything until we get out of the forest. If it can't talk and walk on two legs, its as good as dead." Link said, massaging his neck.

"Sir, I don't think we'll be able to get through unless we go in single file. These passageways are really tight." Vegas pointed out.

"Okay, we'll dismount, and walk the horses. Keep an Eagle in your hand. Romero, you and Vegas get the shotguns and take point. If there are any more of the bastards, I want their blood on the ground." 

The two heavy weapons support troops nodded, and searched their packs for their tactical shotguns and shells.

The two led the way through the maze of passageways, jumping around the corners and ripping through the moblins before they ever knew what hit them.

Vegas and Romero blasted another moblin, and pumped their Franci tactical shotguns, and stood at the end of the passage, waiting to bust in and blow away the next moblin. 

Romero nodded, and Vegas ran in, his shotgun shouldered. However, he stopped when he saw what was there. They were in a clearing, in front of a lush forest. 

Vegas lowered his shotgun, and turned to face the team who were coming throughout the maze, the horses in tow. 

"We're finally done with the maze." Von said. Before anyone could say anymore, a wolfos appeared with a howl, making a beeline for Romero. 

Romero was ready for it, and shot it in the shoulder. The beast was blown backwards, but kept its footing and continued running. Romero pumped his shotgun, and pulled the trigger, just as the Franci clicked empty. 

"Fuck!" Romero shouted, and fumbled with the bandoleer across his chest, trying to reload the weapon. Vegas, however, was already on it, jumping in front of Vegas. 

Link heard the distinctive click of the Franci's action, and turned to see Vegas shouldering the weapon. He took no time in pulling the trigger and sending a shower of buckshot at the creature. It was assaulted by the blast, and began backing up every time Vegas pumped more buckshot into it. Vegas's shotgun finally clicked empty, and the beast fell backwards, blood oozing out from numerous holes in its body. 

"I got you motherfucker." Vegas said quietly, hiding the weapon under blankets on his horse. 

Romero had just stood there with his hands covering his face throughout the ordeal, and slowly let his hands go down by his sides, staring at the chewed up body of the wolfos. 

"Serves you right, you bastard." He muttered to the wolfos, and went over to his horse. He put the now reloaded shotgun on a sheath on his back.

"I'm keeping this handy." He told Link. Link smiled and nodded, and waved his hand forward.

"If you gentlemen are done," he looked around at the Ghosts, "shall we proceed?" 

Moran and Vegas nodded. 

"Si, senor." Santago said. Link urged his horse forward with a light kick in the sides, and the rest of the Ghosts followed. They rode on in silence for the next few hours, Romero and Link watching the forest, keeping one hand on their weapons.

There was a distant boom from the direction of the Lost Woods, and Saria looked up from what she was doing and searched the edge of the woods. 

.

"Did you hear that?" She asked Mido, who was helping her pick carrots for the harvest. 

"Yeah. They've been going on for the last half-hour at least. I don't know what they are."

Saria, however, was pretty sure what they were. They were gunshots. But guns weren't supposed to be developed for another eight hundred years. She was determined to find whoever was responsible.

Link and the Ghosts emerged from the Lost Woods two hours later, and found themselves in a village of some kind.

"Hey, Mido, someone just came out of the Lost Woods!" A little kid with green clothes said. Little children wearing the same clothes ran up to them, asking too many questions to count. 

"Are you hurt?"

"What happened?" 

"Who are you?" 

"You smell funny!" 

"What's this?" 

Aria looked around, smiling. "They're so cute!" She exclaimed. She dismounted, and started talking to one of the children. Link was just staring at the little children, shock plastered all over his face. He and Vegas got the same idea and looked at each other with wide eyes.

"It does exist!" Link exclaimed.

"They do exist!" Vegas said back. Link was suddenly brought out of his reverie by a high-pitched voice.

"Link!" 

Link's head snapped to face who had called his name, while his hand reached for the Desert Eagle hidden under is camo. He saw a little green-haired girl running towards him.

"Saria?! What are you doing here?" Link asked, dismounting. The rest of the team was preoccupied with the curious little kids. Most of the guys were having fun, there fatherly skills taking over. Most of them had kids, after all.

Saria ran up to Link, and he hugged her.

"I should be asking you the same thing. Were those gunshots I heard earlier?" She asked, a hand on her hip.

"Yeah, we came across some moblins. They're history."

"I ask again: what are you doing in the past?"

"We're taking care of something. Look, can we talk somewhere else?" 

She nodded, and led him towards her house. 

"Hey, Big Daddy, where are you going?" Von asked.

"I'm going to talk, just keep the Kokiri entertained." 

"Keep who entertained?" 

"Nevermind. Just stay out here." Von nodded, and then a Kokiri tugged on his pants, and he bent down to talk. Link followed Saria into her house, and she made him a cup of tea.

"So, what is the future Hero of Time doing in the past? Do you realize what this is going to do to the Triforce of Courage?" 

"Yeah, it splits its power between us. That's why we came at night, so the other Hero of Time wouldn't notice that the Triforce had split."

Saria nodded, and took a sip of her tea. Link took a sip too, and immediately regretted it. The tea was a strong mint, and Link hated mint. 

"What's going on that the Ghosts had to interfere with time?" Saria asked, apprehensive about what she was about to hear. 

Link sighed, and began explaining the complex scenario.


	7. Chapter 7

Saria sighed.  
  
Link had just turned her world inside out.  
  
"The Black Death are the group that is responsible for everything." Link said, reluctantly finishing off the mint tea. He would have to regurgitate it as soon as he left her presence. He didn't want an alergic reaction.  
  
"Taking over Hyrule wouldn't do anything. Eventually, they would lose control. No kingdom lasts for a thousand years. There has to be a diferrent reason behind this." Saria said, noticing Link's discomfort.  
  
"Look, I just need you to promise me something." Link said, looking in her eyes.  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "I need you to promise me you won't get involved."  
  
Saria was shocked. Why wouldn't he want her to get involved? "Not get involved?" she said cynically. "How do you expect me to not get involved? If Time is being changed, the Sages need to know."  
  
"Yes, they do. However, I need them to stay out of it. Everything is under control. If they interfere, it will cost a lot of soldiers their lives."  
  
"Fine." Saria huffed. Link studied her, trying to determine if she was lying. She squirmed under his stare. How does he do this to me? The other Link can't make me squirm like that.  
  
"I'll make sure they don't interfere. I promise."  
  
Link smiled at her, and stood up. He immediatley regretted it, as his stomach reminded him that it didn't agree with what he had consumed.  
  
"Well, I have to go now. If you hear any more funny noises in the forest, let me know." Link cringed in pain, and unclipped a radio from his belt.  
  
"Use this to contact me. It has an unlimited range as long as it has batteries, so make sure to only use it when you have to." Saria nodded, and Link left her house quickly, dashing to the side, and throwing up in the garden. After he had effectively gotten rid of the mint in his stomach, he walked slowly back towards where the team were still talking to the Kokiri.  
  
"Hey, Big Daddy! We gave them some chocolate, and they love it! These kids are hilarious." Kose said as Link approached.  
  
"Well, just keep in mind that these kids are older than most of your great grandparents." Link said, giving his horse a small treat that was packed with energy providing substances.  
  
"What? They couldn't be more than ten years old." Kose said, giving him a confused look.  
  
"Look, I'll explain later." Link said. His stomach as still churning from the mint.  
  
"What's with you?"  
  
"Saria gave me mint tea."  
  
Realization spread across Kose's face, and his mouth made an O shape.  
  
"Well, that would certainly put you in a bad mood."  
  
"I'm not in a bad mood...just a little irritated." Link said.  
  
"Whatever." Wih that, Kose walked off, leaving Link to deal with the funny feeling in his stomach. Link suddenly noticed Aria giving him a look from across the crowd of children that said she knew what he was feeling.  
  
Link just shook his head, and turned to mount his horse. The Kokiri noticed him, and they soon crowded his horse.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"You look familiar."  
  
"Did you come from the castle?"  
  
"Do you know the princess?"  
  
Link knelt by one of the children, and gave each one a piece of chocolate.  
  
An hour and twenty chocolate bars later, the team were on their ay, having just crossed the bridge of Kokiri forest.  
  
Vegas rode up to Link, and shifted uncomfortably in the saddle.  
  
"No one told me riding a horse hurt your ass so much." He said, shifting again.  
  
Link smiled, sighing as the funny feeling in his stomach finally subsided.  
  
"Haven't you ever ridden a horse before?"  
  
"Yeah, when I was five." Vegas said, "And it was only for a few minutes."  
  
"You better get used to it, we have a lot of ground to cover, and once we leave the forest, we'll need to pick up the pace."  
  
Vegas gave link a quick salute.  
  
"Oh, that reminds me of something." Link said.  
  
Link urged Shadow to a stop, and turned around to address the Ghosts.  
  
"As soon as we cross this bridge, I want to make something clear to all of you. When we reach Hyrule Field, none of you are soldiers anymore. I don't want to hear any 'no sir', 'yes sir', or any military jargon. No hand signals, either. I know we've been trained to work as a team, but I want you all to act independently. And finally, try to get used to drawing your swords before you draw your sidearms. If we do encounter the enemy, we might be able to talk our way out of a fight. Is this clear to everyone?"  
  
Link received a few nods.  
  
"Whatever." Von said, his lips pursed.  
  
"It doesn't, however, give you permission for insubordination." Link said without looking back.  
  
"Let's go, then." Link said, as he urged his steed through the last few trees and onto the vast plains of Hyrule field. Link breathed in the fresh air, relieved to finally be out of the forest.  
  
"Oh, and while we're out on the open plains, you can talk if you want to." Link said to the team. They immediatley started conversations with each other.  
  
Aria rode up next to Grady and Link, and grinned at him. Link looked at her with a confused look.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"She gave you mint, didn't she?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I can't believe a man who can take down a giant pig and kill moblins with his bare hands is allergic to mint." Grady said.  
  
"It's not my fault. At least ugliness is a recessive gene in my family."  
  
Grady scowled at him. "I'm not ugly." Aria snorted in amusement.  
  
"That's what you think. When was the last time you went on a date?"  
  
"I go on plenty of dates." Grady said.  
  
"Name one." Link said, finally bored with looking at the treeline.  
  
Grady paused. That thought brought back bad memories.  
  
"My last date was Lita." Grady said, his face sullen. Lita Sanchez and Grady were very close, and Grady had been prepared to propose to her, ring and all, before she had been killed by Ganondorf.  
  
The whole team had felt that blow. Lita was the second sniper of the team that had been KIA.  
  
Link and Aria were silent after that, not wanting to depress Grady any further.  
  
It had been six hours, and the Ghosts were very uncomfortable. It didn't matter how tough anyone's ass was, riding a horse for six hours will anyone's ass sore. Aria was the one suffering the least.  
  
"My ass just started to hurt a little while ago. Maybe you're all just wimps." She said, giving Vegas an accusing glance.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry my ass isn't hardened by the all-nighters you and Link pull off. I don't know how you could go that long. I wouldn't be able to hold it back." Vegas said, shifting in the saddle.  
  
Aria blushed, and looked at the ground nervously.  
  
"Actually," Link said, "I don't go that long, she just keeps going after I fall asleep. I woke up one morning and she was still at it."  
  
"I do not keep going after you fall asleep!" Aria said, her face beginning to match the color of a tomato.  
  
"But," she added, smiling, "sometimes he does fall asleep when I'm on top. I've restricted him from being on the bottom." She said, winking at Link. Link didn't seem to notice, as he was staring at the horizon with renewed interest. The team laughed and snickered at Aria's comment.  
  
Link, however, wasn't even listening anymore. He could just make out a shape on the horizon, heading towards their position.  
  
"I think we have company."  
  
He heard the click of an automatic weapon.  
  
"Not unless I give permission, Romero." Link said without looking back. Romero cursed.  
  
The shape had gotten very close to their position, and it suddenly shot up straight into the air, flapping its wings.  
  
"Dragon!" Link yelled, as the beast reared its head to unleash its fiery breath.  
  
Vegas and Romero immediatley drew their swords, and jumped off their horses, slapping their backs to get them to run out of harm's way.  
  
Out of the dragon's mouth came a steady stream of flame, making a scorched line of blackened grass between Link and Grady. The entire team had now sent their horses to safety, and were holding their swords out defensively.  
  
"How the fuck do we kill it?!" Moran yelled.  
  
"Hell if I know." Romero muttered, watching as the dragon swung by for another attack.  
  
The dragon reared its head, but instead of belching flame, it suddenly swooped down towards Aria. Aria saw it coming, and as the dragon neared her, she extended her palm towards it.  
  
"Aria! What the hell are you doing?!" Link yelled.  
  
Aria stood calmly, watching the dragon swoop down on her, and she held her out her palm towards the dragon.Te dragon stopped its savage attack, flapping its wings ferociously to prevent running into Aria.  
  
The dragon managed to slow its descent, and it landed a few feet from Aria's glowing hand. The dragon went into a crouching position, folding its wings behind its back.  
  
Aria cocked her head to the side, still holding up her hand.  
  
Link stared at her, mezmorized by her new trick. He had never seen anything like it. Aria's Triforce gave her the power to control beasts of magic.  
  
"Well?" Aria said, her gaze unfaltering from the eyes of the dragon.  
  
"Well what?" Von said.  
  
"Are you going to kill it? We're not having a staring contest." She said.  
  
Romero and Vegas began approaching the dragon from the sides, and it screeched loudly in protest. The two backed off quickly, more than eager to stay away from the dragon's large claws and razor sharp teeth.  
  
"Dn't get close, it will break the trance. Can't you shoot it with something extremely powerful?" Aria said, getting annoyed.  
  
Hanec however, was already on it. During the entire ordeal, Hanec had been calmly assembling his most prized possession: an M82A1 Barrett rifle. It was essentially an Anti-tank gun, but could be used for infantry also. The gun was massive, weighing no less than forty pounds and standing at four feet from muzzle to butt, it was a monster of a weapon.  
  
Hanec was in a prone position, aiming the monster rifle on a bipod. He pulled the receiver back once, letting it slam forward with a loud crack, chambering a seven inch long round.  
  
The sniper placed the crosshairs gracefully over the head of the ancient beast, and flicked off the safety with his thumb.  
  
The team instinctively covered their ears, shielding them somewhat from the sound of the weapon.  
  
Aria, however, had no clue as to what was about to happen.  
  
Hanec squeezed the trigger, releasing the firing pin. It slammed into the back of the cartridge, setting off the primer. The primer ignited the gunpowder, turning all 1500 grains of powder into a propellent, sending the fifty caliber slug whirling at five thousand FPS toward the head of the unsuspecting dragon.  
  
A thunderous boom sounded, echoing across the canyon for over twenty miles around, causing farmers to look up in wonder. The dragon never saw it coming. its head exploded in a dazzling display of blood and bones, sending tiny bits of shrapnel everywhere.  
  
Aria flinched horribly, covering her ears. Her ears were ringing badly, and she couldn't hear anything.  
  
Hanec grinned, and watched as the headless body slammed into the ground in front of Romero and Von. Hanec safed his smoking fifty caliber monster rifle, and got up from his prone positioin on the ground.  
  
"You smoked his ass." Link observed. Hanec laughed.  
  
"It was his fault. He shouldn't have stayed in one place too long." Hanec said, disassembling the monster rifle.  
  
"I guess we all know which monster is superior here, huh?" Von said, pointing to the Barrett that was across Hanec's back.  
  
Hanec grinned again to himself. Grady peeled back a few of the monster's scales just below its legs. The skin there was glowing on and off. This meant that it was the female. And females always traveled in packs.  
  
Link noticed Grady looking nervous.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"This was the female."  
  
"Yeah, so?" Link said.  
  
Hanec looked at him like he had just seen a ghost.  
  
"Let me tell you something about dragons," Grady said, "the females always travel in packs. This way, they can protect each other from the males, because the males will try to kill the females after they mate."  
  
Link's eyes widened, and he looked at the sky and then at Grady, and turned around to the team.  
  
"Kose! Keep that heat-seeker loaded and ready!" Kose raised an eyebrow,, and put a rocket down the tube of the launcher.  
  
"Listen up people," Grady said, getting their attention.  
  
"There's going to be a lot more of these things, and-" Grady was cut off by a scream from Aria.  
  
Five more dragons had appeared over the tops of the trees, heading straight towards them, with death written all over their bony faces.  
  
"RUN!!" Link yelled, and the team took off towards the edge of the woods, about three miles away.  
  
They finally reached the forest, their horses struggling for breath, and the adrenaline beginning to pump through their veins.  
  
Various clicks and noises resounded just inside the forest as the team got out their weapons. Kose had the heat-seeker shoulder, and was zeroing the sights. However, nothing happened.  
  
The team exchanged confused looks.  
  
"Where are they?" Moran wondered aloud.  
  
"Shh. Dragons have excellent hearing. We're going to have to stay here until nightfall. Dragons can't see very well in the dark." Aria told the group.  
  
As the sun set, Link ordered Von and Moran to check over a hill, to see what was going on in Castleton.  
  
As Santago and Moran headed up the hill, their M4s shouldered, they stayed alert for any people that might see them. As they crested the hill, they were greeted with a site that was magnificent and horrifying at the same time.  
  
Just over the hill, the walls of Castleton were glystening in the setting sun. The gate was closed, and guards were patrolling the top of the walls. Santago pulled thermal imaging binoculars from his pocket and examined the guards and the area just beyond the wall.  
  
"Fuck." Santago hissed.  
  
"What?" Moran asked.  
  
"Look for yourself." Santago said, passing the binoculars to Moran.  
  
"Fuck." moran said after looking at the guards.  
  
Patrolling the tops of the walls were men wearing dark green clothes and carrying AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifles.  
  
Santago and Moran snuck back to the team, their faces betraying their efforts to keep their emotion hidden.  
  
"Castleton has fallen." Moran said.  
  
Link cursed, and Moran caught something in his eyes that he hadn't seen before. It was a mixture of hate, excitement, and anger all rolleed into one. The look that was on Link's face was enough to scare any man.  
  
"At nightfall, we're going in."  
  
Hey all. Have any of you been getting the Influenza A that's been going around? My entire family has it. Anyway, next chapter will be almost non- stop action. I might not update for a while, as I need to give some attention to the much-neglected The Hunter.  
  
Undertaker out. 


End file.
